The Price to Remember
by CresentCrimzonMoon
Summary: What is the price to remember? The price is to forget. What will Lucy do when she is forced to pay the price? Mysterious people come after her saying they're trying to save her. Can Natsu save Lucy or will her memory save them all? *IN THE PROCESS OF BEING RE-WRITTEN!*
1. Recurring Nightmare

**Crimzon: . . . yes I got another idea for a fanfic and yes, I am stuck on the few I'm close to finishing. Rlly, its so bad that I spent five hours trying to type a chapter and I only got 1,000 words . . . that's rlly bad. Um, I kinda got this idea from the NaLu oneshot I did and exapanded the idea. If you want, you can read it . . . you don't rlly hafta to understand this story. In the oneshot, I killed off Lucy and brought her back. I've not yet decided on whether or not I'll kill her off and leave it like that or bring her back. Anyways, read, review and we shall see. I DON'T OWN FAIRY TAIL, ONLY OCS!**

_**~The Price to Remember~**_

_~General POV~_

_ What if you forgot something, something important? What would you give in order to retrieve what you have lost? Would you give up your current memories? No, the real question here is . . . do you even want to remember?_

Lucy bolted up in her bed. Her breath came in short gasps and she was covered in a cold sweat. Every night for the past week now had been the same thing. A soft and soothing voice would call out to her and ask the same questions. When it would get to the last one, she'd feel goosebumps on her skin and a shiver down her spine. Something was wrong, but she didn't know what. As it gets to the last question, she wakes up. She wasn't sure what to call what was happening. A recurring nightmare maybe? She wasn't sure. There was only one thing that she can think of at this point . . . if she truly forgot something, what was it that made it important?

Lucy let out a shaky sigh and slouched forward, hugging her knees. She wasn't sure about anything at the moment except for one thing. She's afraid to remember what she forgot.

"What's happening to me?" she whispered. Unable to keep back her tears, she cried silently to herself, wishing for an answere to her torment.

_~Somewhere outside Magnolia~_

Three figures stood just outside the city on a cliff. They watched the city with a look of curiosity and pitty.

"If you continue to do this to her, she just might break," said one. The tallest of the three, wearing a dark hooded cape that covered the upper part of his face.

"Why should I? This is much too fun!" argued the smallest. The smile on her face could only come from a sadist. Standing up from her crouched possision, she looked over to the third figure who merely stood there with arms crossed, not bothering with anything else except staring off into space. "You understand your mission?" her playful tone turned into a sour one. The figure's response was a silent nod. "Good, now go! Go and make Lucy Heartfillia suffer for what she's done!" Another nod and the figure started the short walk into town.

"Remember to bring her back alive!" shouted the tallest. Once the third figure was gone, the shortest pouted as she sank to the floor in another crouch.

"I still don't understand why we need her alive."

"It's not our business to question Master. The fact of the matter is that he wants her brought to him alive and it's not our place to question why." He let out another sigh and walked over to grab the shortest by the hood of her coat and began to pull her along into the forest. "Let's head back and report to Master that it's begun." He stated. Before they disappeared into the forest completely, they felt a weird static in the air that made their skin crawl.

"That person is here as well. We should go take care of…" started the young girl when she was interrupted.

"No, we did what we came here to do. Now we wait and observe." Seconds past and all traces of them ever being there was gone.

**Crimzon: . . . it's short for a reason. I'll add the next chapter tomorrow . . . maybe. Please review and let me know what you think so far (even though it's the first and very short chapter).**


	2. Will You Remember Me?

**Crimzon: Sorry to those I left in suspense, but considering I just got this idea Monday and have very little clue where I'm going with this, you cant blame me for making it short. Anyways, yes, I'm basing this off of the 'two-shot' fairy tail I wrote, but at the same time, not so much . . . its hard to explain. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and please review. I OWN NOTHING, ONLY OCS!**

_**~The Price to Remember~**_

_~General POV~ _

"Lucy . . . Lucy . . ."

_Someone is calling me, but who?_ Thought the celestial mage. She felt groggy and could hardly open her eyes. The voice sounded so familiar, but she couldn't figure out who.

"Lucy . . . Lucy!" the voice got louder and she felt something poking her head. _Whoever you are, let me sleep!_

"Lucy, Lucy, Lucy, Lucy!" with a groan, Lucy lifted her head with half open eyes.

"Alright, what's the big idea!" She stopped when she came face to face with dark green-ish eyes and pink hair. That's when she realized that she had fallen asleep at one of the tables at the Fairy Tail guild. "Oh, it's just you, Natsu. Sorry, did I fall asleep?" she apologized as she rubbed one of her eyes. The young dragon slayer looked at his nakama with worry.

"Is everything ok?" he asked, sitting down on the bench across from her.

"Yeah, why would there be something wrong?" she lied.

"No, you just seem a little off lately," he said. Lucy was shocked. Usually Natsu is the last to notice anything and, for a moment, she felt happy that he noticed something for once.

"Well, there is something, but . . ." before she could tell Natsu anything, Gray ran over, anger written all over his face.

"Damnit Natsu, where the hell did you hide my clothes!" yelled Gray as he ran over in nothing but his boxers.

"Psh, I didn't touch your clothes, dumbass." Snapped Natsu. That's when their usual fights began.

"What the fuck did you call me, shitfire?" cussed Gray. _Well, here we go again._ Thought Lucy as she mentally rolled her eyes.

"You want to start something, ice for brains?" spat Natsu. Lucy let out another sigh and turned to the guys.

"I suggest you guys knock it off unless you want to piss off Erza," stated Lucy as she pointed over to the mage looking at the job requests. A cold shiver seemed to go through their spines at the thought of Erza's wrath. They then composed themselves, threw each other a glare and walked away. At that moment, Wendy rushed into the guild with a stack of clothes in her arms.

"Gray, I found a pile of your clothes outside!"

"Wah, my clothes!"

"Well, there solves that mystery," chuckled Lucy.

_~In a bar somewhere in Magnolia~_

A lone figure sat on a barstool, chugging back a glass of milk. On the counter was a map of the town and she looked down at it with intense eyes.

"Need help, little lady?" asked the bartender as he dried a wine glass with a small towel.

"Yeah, I'm looking for Fairy Tail guild," she replied in a low voice.

"Hmm? Looking to join huh? Well if you follow this rode here," he pointed to a spot on the map, "you'll get to the guild."

"Thank you and yes, I am going to join." She smiled, setting down her glass.

"Well, judging by how well you know your way around, you arrive here today?" chuckled the bartender.

"Hah, yeah. I got here this morning actually. I heard an old friend of mine joined Fairy Tail and after some thought, I thought I'd come and join too."

"Hmm, well you also need to be a strong mage to join," he joked.

"Well yes, of course," she laughed along. At that moment, she felt everything grow cold and a shiver flew down her spine, almost like static. The old bartender noticed something seemed wrong with the young mage.

"Is everything alright?" he asked. She looked up at him, no emotion in her eyes. An innocent smile then spread across her face.

"Yeah, I think I may be coming down with a cold or something. Well, thank you, I should probably get going before it gets too late." She placed some money on the counter and jumped off the stool.

"No problem. Hah, not everyday someone comes in to order a glass of milk," he chuckled some more. "Well, be carefull say hello to your friend for me!" joked the bartender as he waved goodbye.

"Thanks and I will . . . I just hope she remembers me," she the last part through a whisper as a shadow covered her expression.

_~Back at the Guild~_

"Ne, ne, Lucy? Can you go get me some fish?" asked Happy. Lucy was still slumped over at the table, not bothering to move once. Because of her nightmares, she hasn't gotten much sleep so any kind of energy she usualy has was gone. At the moment, she was debating on heading back home and attempt to sleep.

"Luuuuucccccyyyyy?" purred the flying blue cat. Having her death glare in place, she looked up at the cat.

"What?" she snapped.

"I want some fish," smiled Happy.

"Get. It. Yourself." Growled Lucy. Happy felt the anger in her tone and started to back away slowley. Once he was at a safe distance, he turned and cried to Charlie's direction.

"Waaaahhh, Lucy's scary!"

"What could be wrong with Lucy?" wondered Pantherlily. Him along with Charlie and Wendy were sitting at a nearby table, avoiding the grouchy celestial mage.

"Who knows? But . . . something just doesn't seem right."

"What do you mean, Charlie?" asked Wendy, feeling concern for her friend.

"I . . . I don't know."

Erza noticed a change in Lucy's behavior and assumed that going on a job with everyone might help. She grabbed one of the papers from the board and walked over to Lucy.

"Lucy?"

"Hmm, what is it, Erza?" she asked, rubbing one of her eyes. _She must have fallen asleep again_, thought Erza. At that point, Erza thought some tough love would be enough to get Lucy up and running. She slammed the paper onto the table, making the blonde jump in her seat and look up at erza with fear in her eyes.

"We're going on this job . . . NOW. NATSU, GRAY, GET YOUR THINGS TOGETHER, WE'RE LEAVING IN FIFTEEN!" she sternly ordered. Natsu and Gray dropped whatever it was they were doing at that moment, saluted Erza then ran to get their things together. _Talk about whipped_, thought Lucy.

"Um, Erza?" mumbled Lucy, afraid to look at her in the eye.

"No buts or excuses, you're going." Even though she had meant it to sound harsh, it sounded kind and sincere. She then smiled down at Lucy and walked away to pack her things. _She's probably just trying to cheer me up, _thought Lucy. With a smile, she got up from her seat, swept away every troubling thoughts and put her mind to focus on their new mission. Before leaving to get her things as well, she looked down at the request.

_**Please help me find what I lost!**_

_Find a lost heirloom in a cave_

_Reward: 5,000,000 Jewel._

"Incredible, so much for an heirloom?" gasped Lucy. Her frown then turned into a smile as she realized that she'll be able to make this months payments.

"Is Lucy still grumpy?" asked Happy as he flew up from behind her shoulder.

"No, Happy. Sorry if I scared you. Come on, let's get ready for our next job."

"Aye Sir!" cheered Happy as the two walked out the guild.

_~Nearby the Guild~_

"After all these years, I finally get to see you again, Lucy Heartfilia." Smiled the mysterious girl as she made her way inside the guild. _Do you rememeber? Do you rememebr me, Lucy?_

**Crimzon: . . . it actually caused me pain to write this! Writers block is so difficult that it causes me pain! WTF! Ugh, at least I managed to finish this chapter without any broken bones. Sorry it's like over a day late, but I don't know what is wrong with me lately. Anyways, please read and review and I'll type up the next one as soon as possible. Maybe tomorrow or Friday . . . saterday the latest haha.**

**Happy: You should prolly stop makin promises you can't keep.**

**Crimzon: Who asked you?**

**Happy: Aye sir!**

**Crimzon: AGAIN WITH THE AYE!**


	3. Heirloom

**Crimzon: Well, here is chapter 3. Thank you so much for the reviews everyone and also, I just realized an error in the last chapter haha. When the bartender was showing (as one of you put) character X the map, I meant to put 'road' not 'rode.' Haha, my bad. It was one in the morning when I was at that part and I was half asleep. Thankyou for pointing that out, **_**ShiningStellar**_**. Anyways, please read and review and I OWN NOTHING!**

_**~The Price to Remember~**_

_~General POV~_

_Do you remember me, Lucy?_ Thought the mysterious girl as she stood outside Fairy Tail's gates. She took a step forward then stopped when she realized something. _She's not here. _She looked around, wondering where her old friend could have gone.

"Excuse me, are you new here?" a soft shy voice asked her. She turned and saw a small girl with long blue hair with two cats following her.

"Yes actually. Um, I'm looking for someone named Lucy, did she just leave?" she asked. Wendy looked at her with curiosity, wondering who she was. Charlie got a weird vibe from this mysterious person and answered her question before Wendy could get the chance.

"Yes, she left. We don't know where though." With that said, Charlie turned, pulled Wendy by her sleave and walked back into the guild.

At the moment, the girl could only think of one thing, _that cat just talked._ With that aside, she just wanted to make sure Lucy wasn't there. That cat was suspicious of her and obviously didn't want her to know where Lucy was. There's just one thing, she already knew where she is. With a smile, she turned away from the guild and walked in the direction of the train station.

_~On the Train~_

_~Lucy's POV~_

"_Do you remember?" _It was that voice again. I looked around and I was back in the very place I feared to be in: the darkness.

"Who are you?" I asked the voice, fear dripping with every word.

_"Shouldn't you know?" _the voice asked.

"Know I don't. Why not clear things up for me?" I asked, feeling a cold shiver go down my spine.

_"You truly don't remember . . . maybe it's better this way."_

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" panic rose in my voice.

_"Keep your friends close, Lucy . . ." _Slowly, it's words echoed as it vanished completely, leaving me alone in the dark in full panic mode. Next thing I know, sadistic laughter filled the air around me. The noise was deafening and I felt my knees buckle from under me.

"Stop it . . . stop it . . . STOP IT!" I awoke with a gasp as I found myself on the train. It took me a while to realize that Erza, Gray and Happy had been calling my name. Natsu was, of course, unconcious.

"You were yelling in your sleep, Lucy." Stated Happy.

"Mind telling us what is going on with you?" questioned Gray. Erza gave me that serious look that scared the hell out of me. I let out a shaky sigh and clenched my fists.

"I keep having nightmares," I blurted.

"What kind of nightmares?" asked Happy. He flew over to sit on my lap.

"That's the thing . . . I don't know."

"Well, can you tell us what happens in them?" asked Erza. I looked down at my lap, letting my hair cover my eyes. Why cant I just say it?

"Lucy?" murmured Gray. I let out a sigh and just when I was about to say it, the train's whistle blew, making me jump.

"Looks like we're here," stated Erza. She looked back at me with worry and shook her head.

"You can tell us when you're ready to. For now, let's to the job. Hopefully it'll help you get your mind off it." I smiled at the mage.

"Thank you, Erza." Deep down, I was disapointed that I couldn't just let it out, but further down than that, I was glad that I didn't say anything. Why? Why is that?

As we got off the train, we made our way into town in search of the person that had put of the request. Gray had to carry Natsu the whole way considering he was still half-dead. Erza didn't say another word to me since the train and that worried me. Gray was too busy complaining about carrying Natsu while Happy was being his usual self and trying to lighten the mood.

"Looks like this is it," murmured Erza. All of our mouths dropped open at the sight of the giant mansion in front of us. Well that explains why the reward is so high for an heirloom. We were welcomed in by an old looking butler that eyed us suspiciously. Then, after practically getting lost, we were greeted in the room which they called the sitting area. An old woman introduced herself to us then asked us to sit down.

"My name is Elizabeth. I'm so thankful that you fine mages are helping me recover what I lost."

"You're welcome. Now, can you tell us a little more about our job?" asked Erza, taking full control. Natsu was just waking up as the conversation began.

"Yes, of course. What you are looking for is a ring. You see, my beloved husband died almost three months ago and that ring is all I have left of him."

"On the request, you said it was an heirloom?" asked Gray. Elizabeth nodded.

"Yes, that ring was passed down in my husband's family for generations. When we were young, that was the ring that he proposed to me with." She had a far off stare as she said that.

"I see, how did you come to lose it?" asked Erza.

"After my husband died, I would often go on long walks and let my mind wander. I would somehow find myself far outside the town and most recently, I found myself inside a cave and, I'm not sure what, but something inside that cave frightened me. As I was leaving, I felt hat something had slipped around my hand and my ring fell off, rolling deeper into the cave. I tried to retrieve it myself, but whatever had frightened me had tried to attack me and I had no choice but to escape." She had begun crying and had a handkerchief held up against her eyes. I looked over to my friends and saw the look of seriousness in their eyes.

"It is a good thing you escaped when you did. Don't worry, we'll get your precious ring for you." Smield Erza as she stood up in her confidant stance and started for the front door.

"We'll be back soon with your ring, Elizabeth-san." I smiled at her as well as I followed Erza and the guys to the door.

_~With Elizabeth~_

"They have left, Elizabeth-sama." The old woman's butler, Theo, had walked into the room.

"Yes . . . they did." A mischievous smile spread across her wrinkled face.

_~At the cave~_

"So this is the cave huh? Alright, I'm feeling all fired up!" Natsu chuckled to himself.

"Aye!" agreed Happy.

"Just try not to screw everything up, Natsu," sighed Gray as he began to make his way in the cave. I smiled at the two and started following them in when I realized Erza hadn't said anything or even attempted to make a move.

"Erza?" I asked, looking back at her. It looked like she was in a transe and once I said her name, she seemed to snap out of it.

"Huh? Oh, right," she said as she walked into the cave. I stared at her in disbalief. What the hell just happened? I realized that I was all alone now and I felt a familiar shiver down my spine. Getting that voice in my head that says, "Get the hell away" kicked in and I rushed into the cave like a maniac.

_~Not far from the cave~_

"Hmph, so this is where you are. I should probably hurry and stop them before . . ." the mysterious girl stopped herself from saying another word. Ending her sentence with a smile was enough as she ran into the cave after Lucy.

_~With Lucy in the cave~_

"So, you guys have any idea where to start looking?" I asked, hugging myself. I don't know if it's just me or what but it was freezing in here! I looked at them and saw that they seemed just fine . . . nothing can stop them, not even the freezing cold. As we continued walking further into the cave, we reached a fork in the tunnel.

"Hmm, Natsu, you Happy and Lucy go down that way. I'll go with Gray this way," ordered Erza as she grabbed gray by the collar of his white coat and dragged him away, all the while he cried for freedom. Natsu, Happy, and I waved bye to him with pitty.

_~With Natsu, Happy and Lucy~_

"So, what do you think this ring looks like?" asked Natsu as we kept our eyes to the floor.

"Gee, I duno, maybe a ring?" I responded sarcastically.

"What's got your underwhere in a twist?" stated Natsu, annoyance in his tone.

"Sorry, I just don't feel right. The faster we find the ring, the quicker we get the hell out of here." This cave was beyond creepy and the cold wasn't helping either. I felt myself shaking all over. It's dead quiet for a moment and next thing I knew, I felt something warm cover my shoulders. I looked back and saw that Natsu had given me his red coat that he was wearing on the train.

"Here, wear that for now." He said, avoiding eye contact. I felt my face glow a bright red and just when I think that I cant get any redder, Happy flies up by my head and does what I absolutly hate.

" He lllllllllllllllllikes you!" he purred, rolling his toung.

"Don't do that!" I snapped at him.

"Shh!" I looked over at Natsu who had walked ahead of us.

"What is it, Natsu?" I asked, hugging his coat closer.

"Something's not right." And right as he says that, he flinches and flies back at me, knocking me to the ground along with Happy. Before I could yell at him, I noticed that shadow like tendrils flew past right where I would have been standing. Like always, Natsu rescues me. Helping me up and taking a protective stance, he snarls and clenched his fists.

"What the hell was that?"I stuttered. Natsu stays silent, probably listening for when that _thing_ decides to attack again. I felt Natsu back up against me, causing me to take a step back as well.

"Lucy take Happy and go get the others. I'll distract it," whispered Natsu. What? Why? Before I could respond and complain, he looked over his shoulder at me and his eyes shut me right up. Without a word of complain, I started walking back slowley. Not even five feet away, I felt something cold and clamy wrap around my ankle and pull, causing me to fall. "Lucy!" Natsu yelled, only for him to get hit from behind. Another one of those tendrils was wrapped around Natsu was was swinging him around like a rag doll. I had to do something! I reached for one of my keys, only to find that they had fallen out from the small holdster were just out of my reach. Happy noticed this and attempted to go and get them, but another tendril appeared and wrapped around him as well, knocking him into the cave wall and he was knocked out. Natsu was stuggling to free himself from it's grasp. Without anything left to do, he bit down with his teeth and the tendril let him go. The first thing he did was hit his fists together and they were covered in red flames.

"Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!" he yelled as he punched at the tendrils that came his way. At the last second, I realized that that was nothing but a mere distraction. I saw dozens more pass Natsu and come at me. I attempted to get to my feet and try for my keys, but the one still wrapped around my ankle kept me in place. A few others came and wrapped around my other ankle and then my wrists. I was on my back, staring up at the cave ceiling and dozens of those things were aiming right for me. I could hear Natsu's franctic calls as he tried to make his way to me, but he wasn't going to make it. I closed my eyes, waiting for the pain for when they stabbed me, but it never came.

"Wow Lucy, you changed. Never would you have let something this weak get to you." A voice, familiar . . . but at the same time, it wasn't. I opened my eyes and saw a girl standing in front of me, a gold transparent wall-like barrier was what was keeping the tendrils at bay. Long silver hair and bright gold eyes. She was looking at me over her shoulder with a sarcastic smile.

"Geez, what's happened to you, Lucy?" she looked at me as if she has known me all my life. I looked back at Natsu and he had confusion all over his face. I shrug my shoulders and turned back to the mysterious girl before us.

"Who are you?" was all I was able to say. Her eyes widened and she sighed as she turned back to the monster.

"I had a feeling this is how it would play out . . . I was really hoping that feeling was wrong."

**Crimzon: well, this was a pain. Yes, I stayed up 'till fuckinf 2 in the morning finishing this. Better damn well review people! By the way, the coat jacket thing that Natsu lent Lucy was the one he wore in the first episode of Fairy Tail.**

**Happy: It's technically Sunday so you broke your promise.**

**Crimzon: For your information, I never used the words, 'I promise.'**

**Happy: It was implied.**

**Crimzon: Was not! Anyways, please review and I hope you enjoyed this chappie!**

**Happy: Aye Sir!**


	4. Collapsed Cave

**Crimzon: Haha thanks for the reviews guys. **_**Senbei x Cup Ramen**_** . . . u just made my day with that statement, "Holy crudfaces" haha I like that! Anyways, enjoy this chappie and I own nothing. Also, sorry for those errors last chapter. I never really make such simple mistakes, then again, I was half asleep writing it.**

_**~The Price to Remember~**_

_~General POV~_

Lucy didn't understand. This girl acted like she knew her, but this is the first time ever seeing her.

"Hey, Salamander!" she called over to Natsu who was already helping up from the ground. "Get Lucy out of here," she ordered.

"Why should I go?" he aruged back. That's when she turned to the two with a look of fury in her eyes.

"Your friend is hurt and you don't even know who the hell you're up against. I suggest you get Lucy and get the hell out of this cave." She snapped back. Without another word, Natsu turned back, picked up Lucy in his arms then grabbed Happy by his tail and started running at full speed out of the cave. All the while, he was yelling out Erza's and Gray's name.

_~With Mysterious Girl~_

"So . . . we meet again, Theo." She smiled sadistically as she prepared for a fight with an old friend.

_~With Natsu, Lucy & Happy~_

When he reached the part of the cave where they split up, they ran into their two nakama.

"Natsu, what the hell happened?" questioned Gray as they ran towards the enterence of the cave.

"I don't know. Something attacked us and then this girl came out of no where," answered Natsu, running out of breath.

"What, who?" asked Erza. Beofre Natsu could say anything, they heard a few explosions coming from deeper in the cave. By the time they made it outside, the cave had started to colapse. They stopped and looked back at the cave. Natsu put down Lucy and noticed the burn marks on her arms and legs.

"Lucy, you ok?" he asked. He wasn't sure where the burns had come from.

Lucy had started feeling the pain after the girl appeared. It didn't take her long to notice that it was those tendrils that had burned her skin. When Natsu had picked her up, she had passed out from the pain and was just waking up to his voice.

"I'm . . . I'm fine . . ." she whispered through her teeth. Natsu knew she was liying. At that moment, the cave colapsed completely.

"Natsu, what happened to that girl?" asked Erza. His eyes widened at the realization that she was probably crushed to death now. It was quiet for a moment until they heard something move from under the rocks. Thinking it could be the monster from before, the three mages prepared to fight.

"Cool your jets guys, I'm harmless . . . mostly." It was that girl from before. She stood up from a pile of rubble and dusted herself off. Long silver hair blew in the wind. Eyes glowing a bright gold color. Dawned on her was a dark hooded coat, black pants with boots going up to the knees and a green tank top. Around her neck was a chain with two dog tags. Erza wasn't buying it. She equiped one of her swords and pointed it at her as she walked up to the small group.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Who I am is none of your concern. Right now, your concern should lie with your friend right there." She gestured over to Lucy who had lost conciousness from the pain. Natsu looked back to his friend and nodded. Together, they went back to the guild.

"Be prepared to explain yourself," stated Erza. The girl nodded in agreement and followed them.

_~In a dark, secluded castle~_

The two figures from before walked into a large room made of stone with a large stained glass window being the only thing with color.

"Master, everything is in place." Saluted the tallest as he raised his arm over his chest and bent down on one knee. The room was empty except for the two. The smallest crossed her arms and pouted. The tallest glared up at her and punched her shoulder, causing her let out an embarrasing squeak. "Have some respect, Eliza."

"Hmph," she lowered her arms and looked around the empty room. "No disrespect, Master, but why do you need _her_ alive?" the room fell silent and she waited for a response . . . she got one. The room became cold, so cold that the could see their breath. She started feeling fear and next thing she knew, a sharp pain hit her back and then again in her gut. She caughed up blood as she crumbled to the gound. The taller figure stood up and chuckled at the small girl.

"I warned you not to question him."

"Shut it, Griffin." She snapped as she tried to catch her breath. The cold in the room vanished as the sun rose and its light went through the stained window. The room filled with color as the two figures, Eliza and Griffin left the room to keep watch of an unsuspecting Lucy.

**Crimzon: Sorry it's short, but I wanted to stop it there. I'll try to update sometime between tomorrow and Wednesday, Friday the latest. Please review if you want me to write a better chapter cuz face it, this one was not one of my best.**


	5. Elliot

**Crimzon" Well, Im sooooooooo sorry this is so late. I had writers block and well I was going to update this on Tuesday, but I typed it up on my school computer and when I went to go save the draft on my email then save it on my computer when I got home, it all erased and I was rlly rlly sad so I had to retype the whole damn thing . . . whats even worse is that the first version was more awsome than this and I couldn't remember word for word so I tried my best. Sorry everyone. Anyway, all that shit aside, I'd like to thank everyone for reviewing. I'm trying to keep this as mysterious as possible so you wouldn't believe how difficult it was to word everything very carefully. Um, if any of you want to guess what kind of mage Character-X is then feel free. I wont confirm or deny it, but they'll figure it out next chapter so yeah. You'll know if you were gith or wrong next chappie. Um please keep up the reviews and enjoy. I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL!**

_**~The Price to Remember~**_

_~General POV~_

The group along with the mysterious girl had rushed back to the guild so Wendy could take a look at Lucy's wounds. One they got there, Natsu, Erza, Gray and Happy rushed to the back where the infermary was. Wendy was already there with Charlie.

"What happened?" she asked once she saw the unconcious Celestial Mage. Natsu set her down on one of the cots.

"We were attacked by some weird monster and Lucy got these burns . . ." Natsu was having difficulty keeping his voice from shaking. Erza decided to take over once she noticed.

"Can you do anything, Wendy?" she asked.

"I will try my best!" she said, full of confidance. As she got to work on her healing magic, Charlie went and pushed everyone out of the room and back to the front of the guild. Everyone had noticed what had happened and were asking what had occurred on their mission. Natsu couldn't answer.

Out for blood, not caring who it is, Natsu storms over to the person he could blame. The one who had saved them from the monster. He noticed her over by the bar talking with Mirajane. They were laughing as she sipped a glass of milk. How can they be laughing at a time like this? Thought Natsu. Fueled with anger, he headed towards them. Erza, Gray and Happy shared a quick glance, wondering the same thing. Should we stop them? Erza, being the only one who didn't fear anything followed after Natsu in order to make sure he didn't cause any destruction. She's the only one he'd really listen to and that's only out of fear.

Natsu got to the girl and grabbed her by the neck line of her coat and shoved her up against one of the pillars. Mirajane stared at Natsu with wide eyes, wondering if he had finally snapped.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked. The girl sneered and glared down at him.

"Is this really any way to treat your new guild mate?" She lifted up her arm and on her wrist was a dark green tattoo with the guild's mark. "Now, if you would please put me down, I'll be happy to explain everything." She then smiled. Natsu wasn't planning on discussing things like adults. He really wanted to break something right now. Erza realized that Natsu wasn't going to calm down easily so she quickly walked over and placed her hand on his shoulder. He turned to look at her only to see her glare which immediately sent a chill down his spine. With a low whimper, he put down the small mage and walked over to one of the tables and sat down. Happy and Gray soon joined him.

"Sorry about him, he has a short fuse. My name is . . ." the girl interrupted her before she could finish.

"Titania, Erza Scarlet. I know all about you guys." She smiled nonchalantly and walked over to the table. First she pointed over to Gray. "You are the ice mage, Gray Fullbuster." She then pointed over to Natsu. "You're the dragon slayer, Natsu Dragoneel a.k.a. The Salamander." She then looked over to the flying blue cat and smiled. Instead of saying anything, she sat down on the bench across from Gray.

"WHAT ABOUT ME?" complained Happy. Looking annoyed, the girl turned her attention back to the cat and bluntly stated, "You're a flying blue cat, Happy."

"Well, since you already know all of our names, why not tell us yours?" asked Erza, trying to hide the impatience in her tone.

"I'm Nora."

_~Nora's POV~_

They looked at me with confusion and all I could think was how dense they were. If only they knew what was really going on, they probably would have killed me on the spot.

"Nora?" Erza said. I turned towards her, ignoring the steaming Salamander. "Mind explaining some things to us?" she asked. She was being extra caucious with wording what she said . . . why is that? I smiled and went into my fake personality.

"I'd be happy to. What do you want to know first?" I asked.

"Well first, what in the world was that thing in the cave?" asked Gray.

"Hmm, how should I explain? Well, why dont we start with that job you all went on." Gray shot me a glare for completely avoiding his question. I ignored him and continued, "That old women who requested it is a big liar. She intentionally sent you all to that cave just to be attacked. The monster that attacked you was her butler."

"What? How is that possible, he seemed like a normal old man?" questioned Erza.

"Key word here is 'seemed,' but in reality, he's a strong mage with the ability to change form. That creature he changed into was an ancient monster that terroized this land long ago. His magic lets him copy and become any kind of monster he wishes, but at a cost." I explained. I stopped and waited for their next question.

"Why would that old women send us to a cave just to be attacked. We dont even know her," questioned Gray. I sighed and crossed my arms.

"Yeah, but she knows Lucy." All their eyes widened in shock. Before they could start with the many many questiones they were thinking of that could possible lead to me having a terrible migrain, I continued, "Alright, here's the thing. That old woman, Elizabeth is not an old woman, but a cunning little trickster. She purposley posted a fake request to this guild and on it, she placed a spell so that way Lucy would be the one to take it."

"But, Erza was the one who took it," commented Happy.

"Lucy still went along, didnt she? Meaning it worked. This whole thing was a ploy just to get to Lucy. That monster in the cave, her butler, was there just to attack and kill Lucy." I stopped a moment to let it all sink in.

I sighed and continued, "Lucy resembles someone that Elizabeth used to know. From what I've heard, that girl is a traitor and Elizabeth wants her dead."

"How do you know all this?" was the only thing Natsu could say through clenched teeth. I thought about it for a moment.

"I have my sources," was all I said. I could tell that Erza was about to ask another question when Natsu snapped, jumped onto the table and grabbed me by my shirt . . . again. Really, this boy is going to owe me a new shirt.

"You really piss me off," he said through clenched teeth. At this point, I was overly annoyed and got serious.

"Tell you what, Salamander. Why don't we have a little fight? I win, you drop it and accept the information I gave you."

"And if I win?"

"Then I'll tell you everything I know." He thought about it for a moment then loosened his grip. I fell back down on the bench while he jumped down from the table and made his way to the door.

"Deal, but let's take this outside."

"Quite the Hot Head, aint he?" I chuckled. Erza and Gray gave me a look then followed after Natsu. I noticed that everyone in the guild had already started making a crowed outside. Have they nothing better to do?

_~General POV~_

"Ne, ne, Gajeel?" Wendy came from the back and had walked over to the quite Dragon Slayer.

"Hmm?"

"Where's everyone going?" she asked.

"Outside. Natsu picked a fight with the newbie," he stated. He then looked over at the small girl, "How's blondie?" he asked. Wendy was shocked that he was actually asking how someone was. He really does care.

"She should be alright, but she needs sleep. Those burn marks were really odd," she answered, worry covered her tone.

"How so?" asked Pantherlily. The small black cat walked up after listening to the commotion between the girl called Nora and Natsu.

"Those weren't normal burns . . . I can't explain it." She said, looking puzzeled. Charlie then flew in and stood on the table next to Pantherlily.

"We've never seen anything like it. All I can say is that something is wrong."

Gajeel looked over at the entrence of the guild, watching the crowed grow as they awaited the fight. Something was wrong and he can feel it.

"That girl . . . she smells of death," he mumbled. Wendy looked at him, wondering what he could be talking about. The two exceeds caught on quickly. "We need to keep a close eye on that girl," suggested Charlie.

"Or stay the hell away from her," added Gajeel.

_~Nora's POV~_

Natsu's a Fire Dragon Slayer . . . this should be quite simple. The way his temper is so easily lost . . . victory is mine.

"This is your last chance to back down!" yelled Natsu from across from me. I crossed my arms and closed my eyes, letting my smile show. I shook my head no and the last thing I heard was him say, "Your loss."

That's when the fight began. I could feel it in the ground beneath my feet. He was running at me. I could smell the burning flame surrounding his raised fist.

The scent of the fire got stronger as the vibrations got closer. I didn't need to open my eyes to see that he was throwing a right jab, aiming for my jaw. I moved my head a few inches to the left then back to the right when he switched to trying to hit me with the left. I then ducked under his arm only for him to swing back his right arm, almost hitting me in the neck. I stumbled back then jumped forward and over Natsu. I landed with my back facing him and I didn't need to turn around to know he was already charging. Before his attack could hit, I crouched then used that momentum to slide my leg across the ground, attempting to trip him. He caught on quickly and grabbed hold of my leg then spun me around. Before he could toss me, I dug my nails into the dirt, keeping me still and with my free leg; I kicked him in the face, causing him to stumble back. I then jumped forward, and kicked him again, causing him to slide away on his side.

"No wonder I had to rescue both you and Lucy in that cave. You wouldn't have stood a chance against Theo," I taunted Natsu. At that moment, something seemed to just snap and his expression totally changed. Hit a nerve, did I? That's when I made a mistake; I momentarily let my guard down. Natsu came charging again, fire surrounding his fists. He threw a punch and I almost reacted too late. The flames singed some of my hair. Before I had time to recover, he threw another punch. I bent backwards and it all seemed like it happened in slow motion. **(A/N: Think of the Matrix haha). **His arm came swinging over me and missed, but he managed to grab my dog tags in the process. I felt the chain break as he slid away from me.

_~General POV~_

Natsu had missed, but he realized that he had accidentally taken her dog tags. As he slid away, he looked down at his hand and noticed that they both had the same kind of strange symbol on them. It was a heart with an outline of wings behind it. The heart seemed to be made up of two arrows. The half on the left had a curved arrow pointing down while the one on the right pointed up. The only difference about the two tags was that they had different names. One was Nora's, but the other had the name Elliot. _Who is Elliot?_ Wondered Natsu. But he did notice one thing. Whoever it was must have been real damn important to Nora. He looked up at the girl and saw her face covered in shadow. Her fist was shaking and he could tell that he had made her angry. He didn't realize the worth of the treasure in his hand.

"Give them back . . ." she mumbled. Natsu took a step back and decided to use this to his advantage.

"Come and get 'em" he grinned as he started running away from the girl. She chased after him, all joking was thrown aside as she started to get serious. She jumped and appeared in front of the Dragon Slayer. Before he ran into her, he stoped, slid a bit then turned the other way. Nora was done with this foolish game.

"Give them back!" she yelled this time. Natsu stopped and turned back. He could feel the magical power seep from her. Her fist was starting to glow a vibrant green and it all just gave him a weird chill . . . as if something about her magic was just not right. She raised her fist in the air and for a moment, he thought she was going to charge for him, but instead she punched the ground. For a moment, nothing happened, but then the ground beneath them started to ripple like when you skip a stone across water. Everyone in the area started to stumble around and fall. Even Erza wasn't able to stand her ground. Natsu then fell back, dropping the dog tags. Nora then jumped and grabbed them before she had a chance to lose them again.

_~Nora's POV~_

How stupid of me to let him get a hold of these! Alright, I'm tired of them. I think it's time I stop fooling around.

"You know, I think it's time I end this foolish game." I said. Natsu got back to his feet, fists consumed in flames. He then ran my way, trying to finish this as quickly as he can. I had been looking down at the tags in my hand. He probably assumed that I was too engrossed in my thoughts to pay any attention to him. He's wrong. I could see him charging from the corner of my eye. I closed my eyes and raised my hand out in front of me.

"The Earth is my domain," I murmured mostly to myself. Natsu was running at full speed and wouldn't be able to stop. Just when he was about five feet away from me, I closed my hand into a fist and, catching Natsu mid-jump, were a dozen thick roots. They pierced through the ground, wrapping themselves around the struggling dragon slayer. "Struggle all you want, your efforts are in vain."

"What the hell are these?" he yelled. I decided to answer that sarcastically.

"Well gee, my friend. They look like roots," I laughed as I put the dog tags back around my neck. "Those roots nullify all magical power so I suggest you stop trying to escape them." I explained when I saw him still fidgeting. After a few more seconds of trying to free himself and attempting for a Dragon Roar with only a puff of smoke as a result, he stopped resisting. "You done?" I asked. He didn't respond so I took that as an 'I surrender.' I could hear the gasps all around as the other mages witnessed their strongest fire mage get defeated by a complete stranger. Erza and Gray had run over and while Gray pulled on Natsu's leg, trying to get him lose from the roots, Erza stood in front of me.

"What kind of mage are you?" she asked. I crossed my arms and thought about it for a moment.

"Hmm, that's for me to know and for you to find out." Was all I said as I turned to walk away. Before I left I turned and snapped my fingers. The roots began glowing a vibrant green and disappeared into the ground, letting Natsu fall and land on top of Gray. "By the way, I suggest you look after Lucy because someone's after her and she's no longer safe." Was the last thing I said before leaving.

_~Later that Night, in a random motel~_

I sat there next to the window, staring up at the stars. I continued to look down at the dog tags, letting my memories run wild in my head. Numerous images flashed, leading up to the one person I miss the most and the one person I'm on this mission for. Elliot.

"This is all for you, Elliot . . ." I couldn't help the tears as they slipped passed and fell onto the tag with his name. It was only then that I found myself no longer alone in the room.

"Hmm, how long has it been since I last saw The Great Nora cry?" I glared over at the darkest shadow in the corner of the room. The one lamp dimmed and shut off, leaving me in complete darkness.

"What the hell do you want?" I snapped.

"Nothing, just checking in." I couldn't see worth a damn, but I knew full well who was here. I felt a cold chill skip over my shoulder, across my back then down my arm. I could tell that he was standing right behind me.

"Go screw yourself. I don't need a babysitter for this mission. I'm here aren't I? I even joined their guild just to stay close to her," I snapped again, raising my arm in the air so he could see the guild's mark. I heard him chuckled a bit.

"You never did respect your elders . . . even those who could kill you with only one snap of their fingers."

"Is that all? I'm tired."

"Right, I just needed to be sure that I can trust you. Eliza doesn't seem to trust you at all."

"Eliza doesn't even trust _you._ Only person she really trusts is Griffin and that's not saying much," I added. He chuckled once more.

"Well then, I'll be taking my leave . . . remember your mission, Nora." For a moment, I thought he'd leave then, but he had one more thing to say. "By the way, that boy sends his regards." I felt everything within me twitch in anger. With that last thing said and another chill running across my back, he was gone and the lamp flickered on. I was alone again and it took me a while to realize that I was clutching the tags so hard that my hand had started bleeding.

**Crimzon: I really like what I did with that last part and the part with Gajeel and Wendy haha. Well review and I'll try to update later this week.**


	6. Sun and Moon

**Crimzon: Alright guys, here's the next chapter. Um I just realized that I've been typing Charla's name wrong and putting Charlie so I changed it for this chapter haha. Too lazy to fix the other chapters. Um, when I asked to go and guess what kind of mage Nora is . . . you need to be more specific haha but yeah. Anyway, this chapter gets into more detail about what's going on . . . but remember, there's still a lot of mysteries left. So read, review and Enjoy and I do NOT own Fairy Tail! **

_**The Price to Remember~**_

**~Lucy's POV~**

I couldn't remember anything except for a dark cave and then, extreme pain. Where was I? I don't know. It was dark and dreary and I felt a burning sensation around my arms and legs. I tried to remember the very last thing before I lost consciousness . . . what was it? Images flashed in my mind. Long white hair and gold eyes, one of which had a scar.

"_Seven days . . ." _A voice. The same voice from before . . . the one that haunted my dreams.

"Seven days?" I repeated, meaning it for it to be a question.

"_Seven more days before . . ."_

"Before what?" I asked again.

"_The end . . ." _It was then that I felt cold. This nightmare seemed familiar, like the ones from before only it was a different conversation, but one thing stayed the same: the horrible screams that filled the empty void. My ears hurt as I fell to my knees, hoping I would wake up soon so I wouldn't have to suffer this torture and then, just like that, the screaming stopped and it was dead quiet. Slowly, I looked around me, wondering why I hadn't awakened yet.

"_Seven more days, Lucy." _I looked up and there was a silhouette of a person standing before me.

"What?" I asked, not sure of what else to say. For some reason, this voice was familiar, but at the same time, deadly.

"_You need to remember . . ."_ was the last thing it said as it faded into the black.

**~General POV~**

Lucy woke up in an empty room that looked like an infirmary. She wasn't sure of what happened and was having a hard time trying to remember. She tried to remember the very last thing before losing consciousness but it came out as a blank. She tried to remember who had probably brought her to this room . . . but that too came as a blank. She sat there on the cot, eyes glazed over. At that moment, Erza, Gray, Happy and Natsu walked in with Wendy and Charla trailing behind.

"Hey, she's awake," noted Natsu once he saw the celestial mage sitting up.

"How are you feeling, Lucy? Any pain?" asked Wendy as she walked over to examine the bandages around her arms. Lucy stared at her, no recognition in her eyes. Natsu noticed something seemed off with Lucy and immediately got a bad feeling.

"Lucy?" he asked again. Erza noticed something seemed off too and had walked over to sit on the empty chair by Lucy.

"Is everything ok, Lucy?" she asked. They all stayed silent as she stared at them with a blank expression. She then turned her head towards Erza and started muttering to herself and finally, a name came to her mind.

"E-Eliza?" she mumbled. The four mages stared at her in disbelief.

"Lucy, what's wrong with you? She's Erza!" snapped Natsu, fearful something is happening to his dear friend. It was then that Lucy's eyes regained their usual appearance. Getting back to her senses, she shook her head and noticed everyone staring at her.

"Oh, hey guys . . . is something wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Lucy, you forgot my name," stated Erza. Lucy's head jerked in Erza's direction, shock in her eyes.

"I'd never do such a thing!" she defended.

"But you did, Lucy. You called her Eliza," stated Gray. Lucy stared at them in disbelief.

"But I don't know anyone by that name," she defended. As she said that, she was hit with another headache.

"_Of course you do, Lucy,"_ muttered the voice. It was different from the one in her dreams, but she still felt frightened. As she tried to ignore the pain, the others were calling out to her, asking if she was okay.

"Lucy, what's wrong?" questioned Natsu, this time, more frantic. Gray, Erza and Wendy were asking her the same, but none of them got a response.

"Yelling at her isn't going to get you an answer. Just wait for it to pass," said Nora. The mages turned and found her standing nonchalantly at the doorway. Natsu already felt the anger well up in his veins.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"To protect Lucy, obviously," she answered as she walked over and stood at the end of the cot. Seconds passed without anyone saying a word. Finally, the pain in Lucy's head passed and she noticed Nora in the room.

"You're from . . . before," she said in a shaky voice.

**~Nora's POV~**

I looked right at her and it didn't take me long to figure out that the countdown has already started. She has about a week before . . .

"Protect her from what?" I came out of my mental ranting to hear Gray's question. I stared down at the sheets, trying to find the right words to explain.

"There are some people out there that want her dead. I was sent here to stop them," I explained. They gave me an expression of anger and confusion.

"Who would want to kill Lucy?" asked the young girl, Wendy. I let out a sigh and slouched forward, resting my arms on the metal railings at the end of the cot.

"Maybe I should start from the beginning?" I asked, meaning for it to rhetorical.

"Yes, that'd be very helpful," Erza commented sarcastically. Then she added, "If someone's after Lucy, we want to help."

Before I started saying anything, I looked back at Lucy. She was staring down at her lap, clutching the bed sheets in frustration.

"Well, it's a long story so you better get comfortable," I said. Then I felt another presence in the room. "If you want to listen too, Gajeel, I suggest you get in here," I called to the doorway. I heard a loud 'Tch' sound then he came out from the shadows.

"How'd you know I was there?" he asked, mostly annoyed.

"Just shut it and listen to what I have to say," I snapped. Everyone had a wary glance, but had no complaints. Gajeel walked over and stood in the corner by the chair Wendy had sat down in with his arms crossed. Charla and Happy sat on the bed while Natsu sat at the end next to the railings. Gray leaned up against the wall.

"Well first off . . ." I stared over at Gray. "Put your shirt back on." I stated bluntly. He looked down and noticed his shirt missing.

"Heh? When the fuck did I-?" he gasped as he scampered around trying to find it. I let out a sigh and started the explanation.

"Have any of you ever heard of the story called _The Three Dragons of Trinity_?"

"I remember Grandeeny telling me that story when I was little," commented Wendy.

"Yeah, Igneel told me that story once too," added Natsu. I looked over to Gajeel and noticed him nodding.

"Metalicana told it to me once too."

"I've heard of that story once too," stated Erza. Then Gray walked over, putting on his shirt.

"Yeah, I me too. I remember Ur telling it as a bed time story," added Gray. I looked over to Lucy and noticed her nodding.

"I remember reading it in a book when I was little."

"Well then, let me just say this: the version you guys know isnt the actual story." They all stared at me, confused. "The one you were all told had a happy ending, right?" I asked. They all gave each other a look and nodded. I then looked to each dragon slayer in the room. "Your dragons know the real story, but told you the kiddie version of it. The story goes that there was once three great dragons that protected the Earth from evil, but one of them never really agreed with the other while the third just wanted to keep the peace. The two dragons faught constantly and without any choice left, the third saught out the help of three humans. Teaching them Dragon Slayer magic, they were able to tame the two dragons and the first dragon slayers were born." I stopped a moment then sighed, "That's the version you all know, right?" I asked. They all nodded. Before I could continue with my story, Natsu jumped up from his seat.

"Alright, I'm sick of waiting. What the hell does this stupid story have to do with Lucy?"

"If you would sit your ass down and calm yourself for a moment then I can explain," I calmly stated. "Now, the real version of the story may shock you, but it might clear things up a bit." I pulled up a chair and sat down.

"A long time ago, before Fiore ever existed, there was a small nameless kingdom. During this time, Dragons were not unheard of and were spotted daily. Two great dragons were said to protect the land, but that didn't last. They'd constantly feud and put innocent people in harms way. With every battle, they'd leave nothing but destruction in their wake. One dragon was said to have control over the surrounding earth and air, but was mostly well known for it's fiery temper: The Sun Dragon. The second dragon controlled the seas and anything relating to darkness, but was mostly know for it's cold and icy demeanor: The Moon Dragon." I stopped a moment to collect my thoughts, then continued, "Like in the story you all know, there was a third dragon. Always neutral and wanting nothing more but peace. He was the one who always managed to break up their fights before causing irriversable damage. Known as the protector of life and healer of the wounded: The Spirit Dragon.

As days went by, he realized that their fights were never going to end and did something any desperate dragon would do; seek help from a human. He taught him everything he knew making him the first Dragon Slayer, but no matter the strength the human had, he knew it wouldn't be enough to stop the Sun and Moon. He asked the human to find him two others willing to risk their lives to stop them. Not long after that, the human returned to the dragon with the two who would be burdened with the task."

"What task?" asked Erza.

"The Spirit Dragon had a plan, but needed two pure hearted humans for it to work. Their task was to seal the Sun and Moon away within the two humans. He taught them the Dragon Slayer magic and not long after that, he challenged his two old friends and once they were weakened, he sealed them away inside the two humans. He expected them to die, but they didn't. Not long after, the Spirit Dragon was drastically weakened and fell into an eternal slumber leaving his friend with one last request. The human didn't hesitate and took the duty without complaint. His last request? For him to take on the role that he had. To protect the living and heal the injured."

"What of the other two?" asked Erza.

"Well, the nameless kingdom had no leader and when they saw what the three had done, they saw them as their heros and named them their rulers and protectors. The nameless kingdom was soon named Trinity. The one who sealed away the Moon was named King. His name was Malum Locke. The one who trained with the Spirit dragon was named the head Priest. His name was Fallon Keyes." I stopped a moment then looked right at Lucy, "The one who sealed away the Sun was named Queen. Her name was Luciana Heartfillia."

The room went completely silent as the information I gave them sank in. Their eyes were wide with shock when they heard the Queen's name.

"The reason to this story is that Luciana was said to have been corrupted and betrayed Trinity, but others say different."

"What do you mean?" asked Wendy.

"The events that took place back then, no one is sure of what really happened. Some say that she betrayed everyone and went on a rampage because she lost control of her magic . . . others say that it was the kingdom that betrayed her. No one is really sure, but my master believes Luciana was a great Dragon Slayer and there was a reason behind her actions that day." I stopped a moment and looked back at Lucy, "You resemble Luciana as well as the fact that she's your ancestor. Those who believe that she betrayed Trinity think that Lucy is her reincarnation and that she'll follow in Luciana's footsteps."

"That's the thing, I cant because I'm not a Dragon Slayer," stated Lucy. I chuckled at her statement.

"Yeah well, not for long."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"The dreams you've been having along with the most recent one. The countdown has begun. In a week's time, your memories of the past will return. I'm here to make sure she's safe until the seventh day where her memories return and we'll know the truth. The ones out to kill her don't want her remembering since they think she'll lose control and destory all of Fiore like Trinity."

"So, you're saying that in seven days, Lucy will gain the memories of her ancestor Luciana?"

"Yep, pretty much. Um, theres also one more thing. Natsu, can I talk to you?" I got up from my seat as I motioned for Natsu to follow me out the door. The serious expression never faltered as he followed me. Just when we were out of ear shot, I told him.

"There's just one problem with her recieveing Luciana's memories . . . there is a price." His eyes started to widen as he was probably thinking what was going to happen to his friend. "The price to remember . . . it's to forget. As it gets closer to the seventh day, her memories are slowly going to be replaced. At midnight on the seventh day . . . her current memories will be gone and replaced with Luciana's." just when I finish that statement, Natsu grabs onto my shirt then slams me into the wall.

"This is your fault! None of this would be happening if you didn't come here!" he snapped. I let out a sigh, giving him a sad expression.

"I did nothing to trigger this. The only reason this is happening now is because on the seventh day, it'll be the exact same day in which the kingdom of Trinity was destroyed. I was sent here by my master who knew this day was coming." Natsu losened his grip on me just a bit as a shadow covered the look in his eyes when he lowered his head to look at the ground.

"Will Lucy be able to remember us again?" he asked.

"I really don't know what to tell you. For now, I suggest you guys stay close to her and make this last week as enjoyable as possible."

"Why . . . why is this happening? Who the hell are you?" he snapped again, tears slipping past his eyes.

"I'm surprized you havent figured it out by my scent. What kind of Dragon Slayer are you?" I laughed then composed myself to answer his question.

"The King and Queen of Trinity had a guard of four that protected them. Their guard was made up of Dragon Slayers that were close to their element. For example, Luciana was the Sun Dragon Slayer so fire, air, earth and iron were her element . . . the Earth Dragon Slayer who served under her was my ancestor . . . if you cant put two and two together now then that's just sad."

"You're a Dragon Slayer."

"That's correct, Salamander."

**Crimzon: Ugh, wording this was a pain but whatever.**

**Nora: What do you mean by that?**

**Crimzon: I HAVE TO KEEP THIS AS MYSTERIOUS AS POSSIBLE!**

**Nora: … alrighty then. READ AND REVIEW PEOPLE!**


	7. Seven Days

**Crimzon: OMG, I am loving your guys' reviews right now . . . I think I might cry -sniff,sniff-**

**Happy: Crimzon-chan can cry?**

**Crimzon: HEY, I FEEL EMOTIONS SOMETIMES!**

**Charla: Yes, but that's mostly anger and sarcasm.**

**Crimzon: . . . mean -rolls eyes- Well, I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL, ONLY OCS! READ, REVIEW AND ENJOY!**

_**~The Price to Remember~**_

~General POV~

"_I'm sorry Natsu. I really don't know what will happen once she remembers, otherwise I'd tell you."_

"_So what the hell can I do?" he growled through his teeth. Nora sighed, giving him a sympathetic expression._

"_All you can really do for her is be by her side and hope for the best." With that last statement said, Natsu let go of his grip on her and made his way back to the infirmary. It was before he was out of sight that Nora said one last thing. "Don't tell Lucy. Things won't go well for her if she starts to panic . . . especially in her current condition."_

The conversation from only moments ago kept replaying in his mind. Even though Nora told him that there wasn't much of anything he could do for Lucy, that didn't stop him from trying to think of a solution. It was when he came back into the infirmary that he was bombarded with questions.

"What did Nora say, Natsu?" asked Gray. They knew that there was more to the story that she wasn't able to say in front of them, especially Lucy. Natsu couldn't tell them, he didn't have the heart to, but he knew that they had to know. Before he could really say anything, he looked over to Lucy and smiled as if nothing were wrong.

"Ne, Lucy. Why don't you get some sleep because the moment you're all rested up, we're going on a job!"

Lucy could tell that Natsu was hiding something from her because of his random change in mood, but decided not to question. It was then she realized how tired she was and fell right to sleep. The others gave Natsu a worried glance, but said nothing. In a whisper, he turned to the two Exceeds.

"You two stay here with Lucy." Then he looked to the others and motioned for them to follow. Once they got to the front of the guild, they sat at a table just out of ear shot of the other members. Last thing Natsu wanted was everyone causing a panic.

~Somewhere Outside Magnolia~

Not far from the town, two unknown figures stood by a large oak tree.

"The countdown has begun," mentioned one. The other nodded and let out an exhausted sigh. "You realize that Nora is here."

"Yeah, and?"

"You really don't feel the same for her as before?" he asked again. The second figure was reluctant to respond. " . . . Emrick?"

"It's my mission. If she gets in my way, then I'll have no choice but to cut her down. Besides, like Luciana, she's a traitor as well." The one called Emrick stood up from his crouched position and made his way down the hill towards the city.

~Back at the Guild~

Pantherlily joined the group just when Natsu sat them down at the table to tell them what Nora had told him. After he told them, they were dead quiet. Erza was the first one to break the silence.

"Seven days?" she murmured to herself.

"Will she get her memories of us back?" asked Wendy. Natsu was looking down at the table and shook his head.

"Nora said that she doesn't know whether or not she'll get them back. She just said to stay close to her and make this week last." He clenched his hands together in frustration. Gray was about to jump up from his seat and beat him sensless for thinking that there was nothing they could do when Gajeel beat him to the punch . . . literally. The Iron Dragon Slayer jumped up from the bench, over the table to Natsu's side and threw a right jab at his jaw, causing him to fly into the nearby wall. The other guild members took notice for a second then looked away, thinking that it was just another daily brawl between guild members.

"So is that it? You're giving up?" he growled in anger. Natsu grunted as he sat up, rubbing the back of his head.

"Gajeel?" murmured Pantherlily.

"What happened to the hothead who stopped at nothing to rescue Blondie from me, huh?" he questioned as he walked over to Natsu. He leaned over and grabbed him by his precious scarf then slammed him into the part of the wall that wasn't damaged. "You wouldn't stop when you came to rescue Lucy and not even for a moment did it occur to you to give up." He yelled. Natsu didn't bother fighting back. Instead, he just took it. Gajeel saw the look on his face and could tell that he want getting through to him, so he does the only logical thing to do . . . beat the lights out of him until he gets it. But before he could, he felt a pair of small hands rest on his raised arm. He looked down and noticed Levy standing there with a saddened expression.

"Stop it, Gajeel."

"When the hell did you –"

"I heard you guys talking, and I think that maybe I can help."

"Wait, you heard?" gasped Wendy, not sure of where Levy had come from.

"So you know about Lucy's 'situation'?" asked Erza. Levy nodded her head.

"Yeah, I do and maybe I can help her in some way. Lucy is a dear friend and I want to do what I can."

"Well Natsu, did you realy expect us to go and give up like you are now?" Questioned Gray as he walked over without a shirt . . . again. No one bothered to metion it. Natsu looked down, avoiding everyone's gaze. He felt ashamed that he could ever think of giving up like this. A sly smile then crossed his face and he raised his fist in the air.

"Alright! Levy, what's you plan?" he asked her. Everyone chuckled at his sudden change in mood as they returned to the table to hear Levy's idea.

"I heard everything Natsu said and I also heard the story Nora was telling you all before. I'm sure she noticed me eavesdropping, but probably didn't find it as something she should bother with." She sighed, "Anyway, I have also heard of that story and maybe if I look back in some old books I inherited then maybe I can find something that can help Lucy." She explained. Levy knew that the only way to find some kind of remedy to this then the answer was hidden in the past.

The group of mages discussed their plan. During the seven days, Natsu, Gray, Erza, and Wendy were going to stay by Lucy's side while Levy was going to spend that time researching.

"Well, this might take some time so I should get started." She stood up then stared over at Gajeel. He raised an eyebrow in a questioning look. Levy then grabbed onto his arm with both hands then started draggin him away from the table.

"Where the hell are you taking me?" he yelled.

"I need all the help I can get. You can come too, Pantherlily!" she called over to the silent black exceed. He let out a slight smile and jumped off the table to follow them.

~Not far outside the guild~

Nora sat next to the river with her legs dangling over the edge.

"Careful, Miss!" called over some random guy in a passing fishing boat. She merely smiled and waved in response. _All I have to do is protect her for seven days and then . . ._ she looked down at her at the dog tags around her neck.

"Elliot, Im going to save you. I promise . . ." she murmured to herself. It was at that moment that she felt someone standing behind her. She knew who it was without having to look over her shoulder. Letting instinct take over, she quickly got to her feet then jumped off to the side then jumped up and landed on the otherside of the river.

"Emrick . . ."

"Hello Nora. I hear you're the one protecting the traitor?" he asked. Pure white hair and slightly tan skin. Onyx eyes that looked like a void. On him was a white dress shirt with black slacks with matching dress shoes with white gloves covering his hands.

"Why are you here?" she managed to say.

"My job. I'm here to make sure that Fiore doesn't fall like Trinity." He said. He brough up a gloved hand and covered one of his eyes. A dark aura started to surround him as random white feathers started to fall around him. "Even it is you standing in my way, then I have no choice but to cut you down." I could tell he wasn't joking. He was charging up his magic and he was going to hit me with all he has. White feathered wings formed on his back as random patches of silver scales appeared on his cheeks and down his neck. His ears grew until they had a slight tip as fangs started to peer from under his lip. This is the true power of a Dragon Slayer.

**Crimzon: dum dudum dum**

**Happy: ? ? ?**

**Crimzon: Im adding suspense!**

**Happy: Can I have some fish?**

**Crimzon: You're just ignoring me arent you? Well whatever. Yeah, it's short, but hey . . . I'm just evil that way.**

**Nora: Hell yeah, you are.**

**Crimzon: . . . why do I feel insulted. Anyways, please review and maybe I'll add another chappie later this week . . . hard to say since I have finals to study for, but whatever haha.**


	8. Emrick

**Crimzon: Thank you all for your reviews, I'm so happy haha. Anyways, **_**Master of the Hellish Yard **_**no, actually I didn't notice until you pointed it out, haha. Emrick has the same build as, let's say, Gray. He aint all buff like , so yeah, please read, review and enjoy everyone! I OWN NOTHING!**

_**~The Price to Remember~**_

_**~General POV~**_

Nora was in shock. _Out_ _of all the people they could have sent, it just had to be Emrick!_ She thought to herself.

It had been a long time since the two had seen one another. They used to be good friends, but that was in the past. Emrick took a good look at her and noticed the familiar dog tags around her neck. He chuckled to herself.

"You really think that Elliot is still alive?" he questioned. Nora felt herself twitch in response. Her teeth clenched as her memories flashed back to the last time he ever saw him.

"Shut up! What I do now is none of your business!" she snapped.

"Oh, but that's where you are wrong. It is my business," he sighed. All he really wanted to do was take care of his target then leave. Last thing he wanted to do was waste his time with an old friend. It was dead quiet and he noticed that Nora hadn't bothered to release all of her magic like he had. If she was really intending to fight him the way she was now, then she'd die on his first attack. It was then that he noticed her compose herself and chuckle.

"I thought you weren't the fighting type. Is that why you sent out Elizabeth and Theo first? The countdown didn't even start then . . . were you really that impatient?"

"They were only sent for recon. They weren't supposed to attack, but no matter. It's a shame they failed."

"That's only because I interfered. Did you really think they'd have a chance against me in battle?"

"Well, no. I didn't even know you were the one sent to protect the girl. Had it been any of the others then the outcome would have been different." He let out a sigh then slowly lifted off the ground and floated over to Nora's side. Though it seemed slow, to Nora it happened in a flash. He was floating off the ground a few inches with only a foot of space between them. Nora was frozen. Emrick looked closely at the dog tags and picked them up in his hand. He picked out the one with Elliot's name on it. "If only you'd let him go then you wouldn't have gotten involved in this." He sighed with a saddened expression.

"He isn't dead!" she snapped.

"Sure, just keep thinking that, because at this rate, that very thought will be the death of you." It was then that a slight glow came from his hand and formed a white sword with gold writing running up the blade. He raised it up into the air and was about to swing it down when she side stepped and jumped farther back.

"I don't want to fight you, Emrick."

"Well, that's a shame because you don't have much of a choice." He dashed forward with his sword raised. Nora jumped back and started running in the direction of the guild. _If I had to fight him, it wouldn't be in this kind of area. There wasn't much room and too many civillians in the way. There was plenty of open space in front of the guild. _She thought.

She was only half way towards the guild with Emrick on her tail. She was feeling out of breath running at full speed. All that was keeping her going was the adrenalin.

"Why don't you release your full power?" yelled Emrick. _No . . . not now. I don't want to resort to that . . . at least not yet._

"Iron fist . . ." I heard Emrick mumbling. _Ah shit_. She picked up the pace and just when the guild comes into view, he called out his attack. ". . . of the Spirit Dragon!" out of reflex, she looked over her shoulder and saw a surge of white and gold energy surge from his arm and striking her in the gut. The impact was so powerful that Nora couldn't stand her ground. She went flying into the air only to land into the ground directly in front of the entrence of the guild.

It took her a moment to see where she was exactly and slowly got to her feet. From where she landed to where she was now, there was a good fifteen feet fissure from the impact. There were multiple cuts running up and down her back and could feel the warm blood seeping through her shirt.

"Fight seriously, Nora." she noticed a crowed start to form around the entrence of the guild. She stood up straight and started to unlock the magic she'd hidden deep within her . . . the magic she dared not use.

"You know, I really didn't want to do this . . . but you leave me no choice!" Nora clasped her hands together as a green aura made an outline around her body. Her hair began to change in color. From a silver to an emerald green. Scales started to run down in patches on her cheeks, down her neck and arms. Dark green leaves started to surround her in a vortex until they started forming wings on her back. A multitude of gasps echoed among the crowed.

_~With Natsu, Gray, Wendy, & Erza~_

The four had heard loud crashes coming from outside and when they noticed everyoe gathering to see, they got up from their table and followed.

"What's going on?" questioned Gray to one of the other guild members.

"That new girl, Nora. She's fighting some strange guy." Knowing full well who the guy could be, they bolted for the entrence. Natsu was the first of them to see her. The amount of magic pressure gave him a slight headache. His eyes widened in shock at her appearance. Her hair changed color and she had wings.

"What the –"

_**~Nora's POV~**_

**(A/N: I ABSOLUTLY SUCK AT FIGHT SCENES . . . I CANNOT STRESS THAT ENOUGH)**

I felt familiar eyes staring at me. I looked over my shoulder and there were Natsu and the others. In his mind, he's probably completely lost . . . I don't blame him. He doesn't know what the true power of a Dragon Slayer is. Igneel probably never told him and honestly, I don't blame him for not telling Natsu. For the moment, I ignored the watching eyes and paid more attention to Emrick who had already started charging my way. I stood there, not bothering to move. He had his sword raised, ready to pierce me. I raised out my right arm as the scales on it began glowing, slowly transforming my arm into a dragon's claw. I grabbed the blade then broke it in half. Tossing it aside, I grabbed Emrick by his arm and tossed him into the air. He quickly caught himself by spreading his wings. I spread mine as well and flew up after him. He charged forward and disappeared only to reappear behind me. He attempted a kick only for me to grab his leg with my clawed hand and swung him towards the ground. Just before he impacted, he stopped himself and took a deep breath.

"Great roar of the Spirit Dragon!" His dragon roar came at me like a burst of energy. Before it could hit me, I folded my wings over me, protecting me.

"You call that a Dragon Roar?" I chuckled. He sneered at my taunting. I stayed in my spot in the sky and took a deep breath.

"Great roar of the Earth Dragon!" The burst of energy taking the form of a whirlwind of leaves hit him, causing him to make a crater in the ground, but he was still on his feet.

"Im getting bored with this," he murmured. I noticed his left arm changing and became what my right one was. A sly smile spread across my face as I figured out what he was planning. The way our arms are, this attack was always stronger.

"Iron fist . . ." he murmured.

"Iron fist . . ." I repeated.

"of the Spirit Dragon!"

"of the Earth Dragon!" He jumped up into the air after me as I swooped down after him. Arms were both held back until we got closer and both our fists collided. The impact caused an explosion that shot us both in separate directions. I fell to the ground and slid back on my feet. Emrick did the same, but had gotten pretty far from the guild. I noticed him getting ready for another attack. Before he could do anything, I slapped my hands on the ground and dug my nails into the dirt.

"Nullifying Roots!" dozens of thick roots shot up and surrounded the area around Emrick. Knowing he wouldn't be able to move, I walked over.

"You're finished." I told him only for him to laugh.

"Is that what you think?" he questioned. I raised an eyebrow until I saw something glowing around his feet. "We'll meet again . . . Nora." The circle around his feet began to glow a bright gold as his smile widened.

"Transportation!" and just like that, his body began to vanish and he was gone. Seconds passed and I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked over and saw Erza there with a worried expression. Natsu, Gray and Wendy were close behind her. I let out a sigh as the votex of leaves surrounded me and my appearance became normal.

"You have a lot more to explain to us," was all Erza said before felt myself collapse to the ground. As darkness consumed me, one name came to mind . . . "Elliot."

**Crimzon: . . . I don't like what I did with this chapter, but next one will be more interesting . . . hopefully. You'll see a little more into Nora's past and some other stuff that I cant think of at the moment. Um, I like how absolutly no one has asked who the hell Elliot is so can anyone think of who he might be? Remember, the obvious answer isnt the correct answer.**

**Happy: That's confusing.**

**Crimzon: . . . Its supposed to be. **


	9. Six More Days

**Crimzon: Well, those who guessed, guessed correctly haha, but **_**ShiningStellar **_**had it first. Woo, way to go haha. Also, _Angel of Guilt_****_._ . . what is it that you don't get about it? Haha, anyways, all that aside . . . THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THESE REVIEWS! THEY ARE FUCKING AWSOME!**

**Happy: You sound excited.**

**Crimzon: Yesh . . . anywho, red, review, and enjoy and I OWN NOTHING!**

_**~The Price to Remember~**_

_~Nora's POV~_

_"Ne, ne, Nora-neechan!" a soft low voice calling from the doorway. I was sitting at our worn out kitchen table, drinking a cup of milk. The house around us was small and falling apart. No matter what we did to fix it, nothing helped. This house, it had an expiration date . . . a lot of things do._

_"What is it, Eli?" My little brother, Elliot had run into the room with a wide smile on his face. His bright short red hair reminded me of flickering embers. Eyes as bright as the sun and pale white skin. The life we lived, we couldn't afford much. We were orphans and we wore the same rags every day. Our mother and father died a couple years ago and all we had left was each other. I was fifteen when they died and little Eli was only six._

_"I heard the news, you're going to become an Earth Dragon Slayer?" his eyes were bright with excitement, but I knew his real feelings deep down . . . he was scared that I might leave him all alone._

_"Who told you that?"_

_"Old Man Theo. He said that yesterday you stopped a cave from collapsing on some of the workers! I'm so proud of you, Nee-chan!" He was hiding his fear behind a toothy grin and it broke my heart that I would have to leave him behind. That's how things worked around here . . . if you showed potential of being a Dragon Slayer, then . . ._

_"Nee-chan?" my heart broke from the sound of his voice. I sank down to my knees and hugged him, crying into his shoulder._

_"I know you're not happy, Eli . . . say it." His shoulder was shaking and I knew he was crying._

_"Does this mean, you're leaving?" his voice was shaking and I could feel the tears dripping down his face onto my arm._

_"I won't leave you alone, Eli. I promise never to leave you alone."_

"Nora?" the scene in my head started to fade and it took me a moment to realize that it was just a dream . . . a painful memory of the past. I felt groggy as I sat up, placing a hand on my head, hoping it would stop the pulsing headache. I opened my eyes and found myself in the infirmary Lucy was in and then I found her, sitting in the chair next to the cot I was in.

"Lucy? Shouldn't you be resting?" I asked.

"Ne, Ne, Nora, so you're a Dragon Slayer?" asked Happy. I noticed the little blue cat standing at the end of the cot with the white one, standing next to him with her arms crossed.

"I heard that you were fighting another Dragon Slayer in front of the guild . . . was he the one that's after Lucy?" questioned Charla. I gave them an expressionless stare.

"Well, I wanted to thank you, Nora, for protecting everyone here at the guild. Who knows what that guy could have done had you not been here," thanked Lucy. "I mean, you don't even know us and you're doing so much for us."

"Yeah well, I was sent here to protect you . . . I just happened to protect the guild as well." I stated bluntly. Then I looked at the expression she gave me and for some reason, I felt bad. So, I added, "Besides, I'm part of the guild now, it's only right that I fight for it too." Her expression changed and she smiled and so did Happy . . . but Charla wasn't fooled. She could tell that something seemed off about me and I didn't blame her. If only they knew . . .

"Hey, she's awake," noted Erza as she walked in with Gray and Natsu.

"Lucy, shouldn't you be resting?" wondered Natsu. Lucy looked up at him and smiled.

"No, I'm ok now." She said. I noticed the look of sadness on Natsu's face. Judging by all of this, he hasn't told Lucy about her memories fading. Good. Had he done so, she'd probably panic and that would only make things worse for her, especially in her current state. I sighed.

"Natsu, why don't you go and take Lucy home. She'll be too vulnerable here at the guild and I think she'll be safer in her own home." He was about to argue and probably say, _'don't tell me what to do!'_ but before he could, Erza stopped him.

"That's a good idea. Natsu, take Lucy home and we'll meet you there later." Knowing hoe whipped he is by Erza, he didn't argue and nodded.

"Come on Lucy," he said as he reached for her hand, but this entire time, she had been starring off into space. "Lucy?" he called again. I noticed her eyes glazed over as she turned her head to look at him.

"Hey there, little Eli . . ." everyone stared at her in shock, mostly Natsu. Seconds of awkward silence passed and Lucy's eyes became normal again and she shook her head.

"I'm sorry, what are we doing?"

"Nothing, I'm taking you home, Lucy."

_~Moments Later~_

"It's getting worse, isn't it?" asked Gray.

"It's only day one and it's only going to get worse form here," added Erza. I was looking down at the covers, trying not to let the guilt get to me. Why should I care what happens? It's not my problem. I'm only here to make sure she doesn't die in the next six days.

"Nora?" I heard Erza say my name and I looked up. "Are you sure that there isn't anything we can do?" I looked back down and nodded my head. I wasn't lying . . . I really didn't know.

"Nora, can we ask you something. It has to do with your magic." Erza walked over and sat down in the seat that Lucy had sat in earlier. Gray was leaning against the nearby wall. Charla continued to stand at the foot of the cot with her arms crossed. Happy had left earlier with Natsu and Lucy.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"You say you're a Dragon Slayer, but so are Natsu, Wendy and Gajeel and we've never seen them grow wings, so tell us, what kind of Dragon Slayer are you?" asked Gray. Everything within my mind seemed to stop as I tried to figure out the kind of answer I could give them. No matter what, the answer that came to mind was the only one and I knew that they weren't going to like it.

"Unlike them, I'm a fully awakened Dragon Slayer. I, along with others, was trained nonstop by Dragons that were kept hidden from the world," I stopped and heaved a sigh. "Once our training was complete . . . we were forced to do the unforgivable." I felt the tears well up then and immediately shut up. Without saying anything else, I got up from the cot and went to get my shoes on when I felt Erza's hand on my shoulder. I turned and noticed the look in her eyes as worry and confusion.

"What did they make you do?" she asked. I turned back and started for the door. Before they could try to stop me from leaving, I gave them their answer.

"In order for us to become fully awakened Dragon Slayers . . . we were forced to kill the one who trained us," and with that last thing said, I left the room without another word heard from them.

_~At Lucy's home~_

_~Lucy's POV~_

"Ne, Lucy, you sure you're ok?" asked Natsu for the hundredth time since I got home.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Is everything alright Natsu? You seem worried about something?" I asked. He just seemed to be hiding something from me and it was starting to bother me that there was something he was keeping from me.

"No, I'm just worried. That thing we fought in that cave was weird."

"Well, don't worry Natsu, I'm okay now." I assured him as I walked over to my closet and got out a fresh pair of clothes. I was in desperate need of a shower.

"What ya doing, Lucy?" asked Happy as he flew over to look over my shoulder.

"I haven't showered since before that job we went on, so I'm taking one now." I said as I grabbed my clean clothes and a towel then made my way to the bathroom. Before closing the door, I took a quick glance at Natsu who had already made himself comfortable on the couch, but his expression . . . it worried me.

I stood there under the hot water, letting it wash away the dirt in my hair. I had removed the bandages from my arms and legs and the burns were still there. They were odd though. They had a weird pattern, like it had come from an octopus. Not only that, but I kept having these weird blackouts and whenever I'd come to my senses, everyone's looking at me as if I did something crazy. I just don't understand it . . . what's happening to me?

Once all the dirt was washed away, I turned the shower off and wrapped a towel around me. I stepped out and stood in front of the mirror. I brought up my hand to wipe away the fog from it, but when I did, I let out a scream. There, in the reflection, was a shadow with a smile filled with razor sharp teeth and blood red eyes. It stared back at me, blood running down from its eyes, head tilted off to the side. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to keep from shaking. I wasn't dreaming, this was real, but what was this thing in the mirror? It started laughing manically and then, it started to reach out through the mirror and the moment I felt its clammy finger touch my forehead, I screamed bloody murder.

_~General POV~_

_~With Natsu~_

"Happy, stop going though Lucy's things," murmured Natsu. Happy stared back at him in shock.

"But you do it all the time!" he argued back.

"Yeah well . . . just stop," was all he could say. It was quiet between the two when all of a sudden, Lucy's apartment filled with her screams. Natsu jolted up and bolted for the bathroom. He banged on it, asking if she was alright, but there was no answer and then, she screamed again.

"Lucy! Lucy, what's going on!" he yelled repeatedly. Lucy still didn't respond and then, he heard a loud thud. Without any hesitation, he backed away then rammed himself into the door, breaking it open. He looked around the bathroom frantically when he saw her on the ground next to the wall, curled up in fetal position. She looked up at the worried Dragon Slayer, tears running down her face when she realized that all she was in was a towel.

"No, get out! Get out, get out, get out!" she yelled, throwing random item at him. Natsu backed away and shut the door between them. Although he was worried, he respected her privacy.

"Lucy, let me in," he asked.

"No!" she yelled, sounding embarrassed.

"Please let me in, Lucy . . . I promise I won't see anything." She didn't respond this time. Natsu then grabbed his scarf from around his neck and brought it up to his eyes, tying it like a blind fold. He then felt around for the door handle and walked through the doorway. Lucy looked up at him and noticed that Natsu was using his precious scarf as a blindfold.

"Natsu . . ." Natsu followed the sound of her voice and crouched down right next to her. Lucy couldn't hold back her tears anymore. She rushed into his arms, tears running down her face as she cried from fear and frustration. Natsu didn't say anything except hold her.

"Natsu . . . What wrong with me?" she cried. With each sob, Natsu clenched his teeth. "What's happening to me?" she cried again. Natsu tightened his grip on her. "I-I'm scared!" she yells as the tears Natsu's been holding back spill over his eyes. Happy stood in the doorway, sobbing quietly since Natsu had just told him what was really happening to their dear friend Lucy.

**Crimzon: I hope everyone likes this chapter. I don't really have much of an opinion on it. I like what I did with the beginning and the end. Also, the whole thing with 'killing the ones who trained them' I did not get that from the manga. Haha, it was one of those obvious things everyone thinks of cuz of the fact that they are called Dragon Slayers . . . I figured they'd be crazy strong if they slay the dragon who trained them and then I read the manga chapter and I'm like "ugh, now people are gona think I got it from the manga" and I rlly am not trying to use stuff from the manga. I'm just going along with what pops up into my head haha. So, cuz of that, ima change it up a bit later on in this fanfic and I can't wait till I get to that future chapter. So please review and I hope you all enjoyed. **


	10. Hallucination

**Crimzon: I just have one thing to say to all of you . . . I FREAKING LOVE YOU GUYS! And yes, the whole killing ur dragons to fully awaken your magic potential comes from the manga but I didn't get the idea from it. I actually thought of it before reading the chapter and I was like, 'aww come on!' but it was like one of those obvious things people think of cuz of the name Dragon Slayer so ya, but cuz I wanan keep it different from the manga, ima change up the whole original consept, but you all wont know that till later cuz im evil that way. And no, it is not set after the 7 years thing. Also, **_**Akarui Nightshade **_**I'm sorry, I didn't mean for anyone to cry.**

**Happy: Yes you did.**

**Crimzon: Shut-up Happy! Anyways, review, enjoy, read . . . but not in that order haha AND I OWN NOTHING!**

_**The Price to Remember**_

_~Nora's POV~_

_~Flashback~_

_"Remember, the Earth around you, though fragile it may be, is still considered one of the strongest elements. It is only as strong as it's user and should the user feel any doubt, regret or shame then they would be ripped apart as easily as ripping apart a single leaf." _

_"Very encouraging, Gardenia." I murumured. We were training in the fields outside the castle. It was a wide and open field surrounded by circular rows of trees. Gardenia was the dragon assigned to train me and she is one of the most strict dragons around. She's been trying to teach me how some kind of technique envolving the roots in the earth . . . but with each try, the spell merely backfires on me._

_"But, should you feel faith, dignity, and honor then you'll be stronger than a mountain." I looked up at Gardenia. Her scales shined like emeralds and her wings resembled leaves. Her eyes were a striking gold and her voice was so strong that it could make other dragons tremble in fear. Her statement took me aback for a moment and then all I could think was, 'what honor'? I have none! "Something is troubling you, Nora."_

_"I can't do this. I'm just not cut out for this, Gardenia." I knelt down to the ground and clenched the grass in my hands._

_"You feel guilt, am I correct?" she asked._

_"I left him behind, all alone . . . HOW CAN YOU EXPECT ME TO LEAVE MY LIFE BEHIND JUST TO BECOME A WEAPON OF WAR!" I yelled, letting all the anger and frustration pour out of me. It was then that I felt her giant claw under my chin, forcing me to look up at her._

_"It must be difficult. To be taken away from your home and loved ones and suddenly, you're expected to do something that can be too much for you to handle. You were thrown into a life you did not want," she said solemnly. At that moment, I realized that she too felt the same as I did. She was also taken away from her homeland and forced to come here, just like I was. I looked back down at the grass and loosend my grip. I pushed the tears back and stood back up. If I can get through this, then I'll be able to go back home._

_"I'm sorry, Gardenia. I'm alright now, I'm ready to try again," I stated as I looked up at my friend. She gave me a toothy grin and nudged me forward to attempt the spell again._

_"Aim for that boulder there, pierce it at the very center and split it apart. I want a clean cut."_

_"Right." I stared at the boulder just fifty or so feet from me. I placed my hands together and stood with my back straight, focusing my magic into my hands. I felt a familiar warmth envelop my hands and suddenly, it felt like all of my pain and sorrow was sent away. All I could think about now was the task at hand. I dashed forward, letting instinct take over. I felt the magic seep out of my fist and surround it, making it look like green flames. As I approached the boulder, I brought back my arm and repeated the words Gardenia told me earlier._

_"Iron Fist of the Earth Dragon!" my fist collided with the boulder. It took a few seconds before the boulder shook and split right down the middle. "Yes! Finally!" I cheered, feeling like I acomplished something today. I heard Gardenia's steps as she got closer to inspect the boulder._

_"Well done, and it only took you ten tries," she mocked._

_"I don't know if I should take that as an insult."_

_~End Flashback~_

I opened my eyes when I felt the sun shine down on my face. I was lying on the roof of Lucy's home, staring up at the clouds as they slowly crossed the daytime sky. After that moment I had back at the guild, I needed somewhere quiet to calm down, but I also needed to make sure no one tried to attack Lucy. I figured the roof of the apartment building was the best place. I only had a few minutes of peace after waking up from my nap when all of a sudden, I hear a blood curdling scream. I knew immediately that it was Lucy who was screaming. I jumped to my feet and slid down to the very edge of the roof, reading to bust in through the window. That's when I heard Natsu yelling, asking her what was wrong and then she screamed again. I leaned off the edge with only one hand hanging on the edge. I was looking through the window and there I see Natsu holding a crying Lucy. Judging by where she was and the screams from earlier, it didn't take me long to put two and two together.

"I guess the hallucinations have started early." I sighed and climbed back to my spot on the roof. "I'll give them a moment alone. It's better that she spends her time with her friends, even more so with Natsu." I stood there in the slience, trying to let the gentle breeze carry away all of my problems. Moments passed and just when I think that I finally felt relaxed, I feel someone standing behind me. I turn around only for an arm to wrap around my waist and a hand to cover my mouth.

"Transportation," he mumbled as a white magic circle appeared around our feet and transported us to a grassy hill by an old oak tree somewhere outside Magnolia. The whole time, I was trying to squirm out of his grip and only until we arrived at the tree did he let go. I back up from him and readied myself for a fight, but he merely stood there. "I don't want to fight you, I just want to talk."

"What the hell do you want, Emrick?" I questioned, not letting my guard down.

"Why are you helping _them_," he asked. My eyes widened for a moment and then I composed myself. "It's for Elliot, right?" he asked again. Again, I didn't answer. "I thought as much. You do realize that theres a good chance he's dead now, right?"

"Shut-up!" I snapped.

"What makes you think that if you succeed with this mission of yours, that he'll be safe and sound? They're just using you!"

"Shut the hell up!" I yelled again as I raised my arm into the arm and with that, a root shot out from the ground and was sent straight at Emrick, only for him to move to one side a mere inch.

"I brought you here so we could have a talk, but it's obvious to me that you don't care about what I have to say." He sighed. "The last thing I want to do is fight you, Nora . . . but if you get in my way, then I'll have no choice. It's your call, Nora. Do you wish to continue this farce or give up and come back to us?"

"Like hell I would. I'm here to protect Lucy, that's final."

"How blind can you be? The moment she regains Luciana's memories, all of Fiore will fall like Trinity before it!"

"That is not my concern." The look on his face showed that he was taken aback by my response, but he quickly composed himself.

"How far you've fallen, Nora. Well, I can see now that whatever I tell you now is pointless. I guess I'll take my leave." As he turned to walk away, I was about to start sprinting back to Lucy's house before he could try anything. "Relax yourself, Nora. We're not planning on attacking a second time today." He said, looking over his shoulder at me. With his back facing me, he muttered a spell and another transportation circle appeared around his feet. Before he disappeared, he muttered one last thing to me.

"I wonder what Gardenia would have said to you in a situation like this? I wonder how disappointed she'd be?" I clenched my teeth and punched the ground, causing a root to shoot up from the ground Emrick was standing on, but I was a second too late. He was already gone and I was left alone to succumb to my tears.

_~General POV~_

"Ne, Erza, what do you think about that Nora girl?" asked Gray as they walked down the hall to Lucy's apartment.

"I honestly don't know. She seems to be truthful when she says she's here to protect Lucy, but there's something about her that seems off." She said. "What do you think?"

"Same here. It looks like she's hiding something, but one things certain, there's someone out there trying to kill Lucy and Nora stopped him today. Maybe we can trust her?" Before Erza could respond, they heard Lucy scream. They gave each other a worried look then started running to her apartment door. When her hand reached the handle, the door wouldn't budge. It was locked. They started banging on the door when they heard another scream and then Natsu yelling.

"Let me in, Lucy!" they heard Natsu yell.

"No!" she yelled back. Erza and Gray stood there at the door, listening to banging sounds and Natsu yelling.

"Please let me in . . . I promise I wont see anything." Was the last thing they heard him say when it got all quiet. Letting their imaginations get the better of them, their faces grew red with embarrasment.

"Um . . . you don't think . . ." Gray was having difficulty getting the words out.

"Maybe we should leave?" muttered Erza. That's when they heard Lucy's cries. They couldn't understand what she was saying and feeling worried, they broke down the door and ran into the room only for them to hear Lucy yell, "Im scared!" with their hands over their eyes, they both yelled in unison.

"Please stop, whatever it is the two of you are doing!" they heard the sudden quiet and took their hands from their eyes and saw the two on the bathroom floor. Natsu had his scarf around his eyes, holding a crying Lucy in a towel. Lucy looked up, tears in her eyes and came to her senses.

"Ehh! Get out! Get out! GET OUT!" She yelled, pushing Natsu away and shutting the door. Happy looked up at Erza and Gray with only one question in mind.

"What did you guys think they were doing?" he asked through a few sobs.

"Uh . . . nothing," they both said again.

"Lucy . . ." murmured Natsu as he fixed his scarf and walked back into the main room and sat down in one of the chairs.

"Natsu?" mumbled Erza as she sat down at the edge of Lucy's bed. Gray went and layed back on the couch.

"What happened with Lucy, just now?" asked Gray.

"I don't know. She was in the bathroom when I started hearing her screaming and when I asked her what happened, she just started crying. It's only been a day and already, it's getting bad," he said through his teeth as he clenched his hands.

"Don't worry, Natsu. Levy and Gajeel are looking for a way to stop what's happening to Lucy. I'm sure they'll find something." Reassured Erza. Natsu looked up at the mage and smiled faintly, only for it to be replaced with worry.

_~With Lucy~_

Lucy's face was still red from earlier, but her current thoughts werent from what happened. She was thinking about what she saw in the mirror. She was trying to stop herself from shaking and once she did, she grabbed the pair of sweats and T-shirt and quickly put those on and went into the next room. She saw her four friends in the room, waiting in silence and once she got to them, Natsu stood up.

"Hey, you ok?" he asked.

"Yeah, sorry to worry you guys."

"What was it that scared you, Lucy?" asked Happy as he flew up to her so she could hold him. Lucy twitched at the sudden memory and let out an exhuasted sigh.

"Why don't you sit down, Lucy," said Erza. Lucy nodded and she walked over to her bed and sat down.

"I don't really know what it was I saw, it didn't seem human. I saw something in the mirror's reflection and it actually tried to reach out for me," said Lucy as she tried to keep her voice steady. "I don't realy know, but maybe I was hallucinating?" she wondered. The others stayed quiet, knowing what she could could have meant. Lucy noticed the sudden silence in the room.

"Is something wrong, guys?" she asked.

"No, nothing at all, Lucy. It's just been a long day," said Erza.

**Crimzon: Well, I think I'll leave it there for now. Haha, I hope you all like another flashback scene and the funny one towards the end. I tried to word it a certain way the previous chapter just for that moment, but it didn't come out the way I wanted . . . Oh well, it kinda worked out. Well, I'll make the next chapter way long cuz a lot of shit it gona go down . . . I think. Ya don't take my word for it cuz I'm not sure yet. Well review people!**


	11. Ana I Cul

**Crimzon: Well, I guess two reviews are okay . . . though it does make me sad.**

**Happy: But didn't one of them say that the review button wasn't working?**

**Crimzon: Damn technical difficulties. Well, I hope you all like this chapter. Please read, review and enjoy and I OWN NOTHING!**

_**The Price to Remember**_

_~Nora's POV~_

I wasn't sure how long I was sitting there crying like a little baby. I had gone years without shedding a single tear. Now, with this mission, it just seems like it's getting more difficult with each passing minute. All of this guilt and shame, it continues to come at me with all of its might and my barrier can only hold for so long. I keep wondering if what I'm doing is the right thing. Every time I feel my thoughts start to waver, I think of Elliot and the pain he had gone through. The pain of me leaving him behind, the pain he went through with training in order to follow in my footsteps, and worst of all, the pain he probably felt when I wasn't able to save him from the monster he was forced to become.

That fateful night, I had pleaded to Master not to force Elliot to become a Dragon Slayer, that he was only a kid and wouldn't be able to handle the training. Of course, he had ignored me and continued with his training behind my back. It was one day that I had come back from a mission that I found my brother's lifeless body in the training hall. At the time, he wasn't really dead, but the look in his eyes said different. He seemed soulless . . . broken. I had only seen him like that once before and that was after our parents had died.

_~Flashback~_

"_Elliot!" my lungs were burning as I ran down the long halls of the castle. I had only just arrived from a mission when I had overheard one of the guards talking about Elliot. "Poor kid," they said, "being put through something so traumatic at such a young age." I knew who they were talking about and I knew what was happening at that moment. I called for whatever adrenaline I had left and started sprinting. All I could really think was getting there before it was too late. I had to stop Elliot before something happened to him._

_It was when I got to the giant ornate double doors did I realize I was too late. The stench of blood was thick in the air and I could feel my stomach churn in disgust. Fear enveloped me as I placed a trembling, sweaty palm against the door and pushed with whatever strength I had left._

_The scene inside the enormous room was frightening. Puffs of smoke swept across the floor, concealing my legs. Blood was spattered all over: on the walls, the floor, everywhere. I noticed pieces of flesh caked the floor around me and all I could think at that moment was where my little brother was. I ignored the bile that threatened to escape. I ignored the pounding headache that threatened to split my head in two. I ignored everything I was feeling and concentrated on finding my brother. _

"_Elliot!" I yelled into the room. I heard laughter coming from high above the room. I looked up to see Master standing at a small balcony. It was high up off the ground and it was put there just so he could watch us becoming true Dragon Slayers. It was sickening how he could watch the horrors we had to commit under his orders. I knew it was his fault that all of this happened. And it was also my fault for not trying harder to stop this from happening._

"_Ah, come to watch the show, Nora? I'm sorry, but you're a tad bit late." He chuckled once more and looked down at a figure below. It didn't take me long to follow his gaze and see the silhouette of someone standing at the very center of the room. I couldn't see, due to all of the smoke, but as it started to clear, so did the figure. I started hearing manic laughter and for a moment, I thought it was coming from Master . . . and I really wished it was. There, standing in the midst of all the bits and pieces of flesh and pools of blood, was none other than my dear little brother._

"_Elliot . . ." I saw his head turn in my direction, his clothes were torn and caked in blood . . . none of which was his. I saw the empty look in his eyes, as if he had gone to hell and back. "Elliot . . ." I mumbled his name once more, trying to keep the tears from spilling over. He smiled sweetly, as if nothing were wrong, and let out a raspy chuckle._

"_I did it, Nora. I'm a Dragon Slayer now . . . I can fight with you now," he smiled. I couldn't respond to that . . . I was too much in shock to say anything. He then looked down at his hands and I could see the heat emanating from them. "I'm no longer a burden to you, Nora-neechan."_

_~End Flashback~_

I punched the ground below me once more, trying to suck in the tears that continued to escape me. I needed to get back to the city and keep an eye on Lucy before something else happens. I needed to get my mind off of Elliot and back on the mission.

~General POV~

Gajeel was beyond annoyed. Levy had dragged him to a library to help sort through books and all he wanted to do at the moment was punch a hole in the wall.

"Find anything yet, Gajeel?" asked Levy as she set aside her hundredth book and went to number 101. Gajeel looked over to his pitiful pile of four and picked up number five. He sighed and shook his head, feeling completely useless. Now he knew what those weaker than him felt.

Pantherlily hovered down form one of the top shelves with a giant dusty book that was close to slipping out of his paws. Levy looked up to the Exceed and, for once, did not recognize the book he had.

"What do you have there, Lily?" she asked as he dropped the book right next to the girl. She removed her magic glasses and studied it carefully.

"I found it hidden behind a few other books. It seems like it was put there so no one would find it." He said. Gajeel got up from his spot on the floor and walked over to look over Levy's shoulder as she opened the dusty book. Some of the pages were so old that the letters were fading. Levy had never seen a book like it nor did she have a clue as to who could have written it. She looked at the title and on it was the very thing she was hoping to find.

"Legend of Trinity," she mumbled, re-opening the book to the very front page. There, on the inside cover was a name written in intricate cursive letters.

"Could that be the author?" asked Pantherlily. Levy didn't say anything. She quickly skimmed through the pages and saw that it was all completely hand written along with a few sketches on every other page.

"Levy?" mumbled Gajeel. Levy looked up at him and smiled.

"I think we found our book." She flipped back to the inside cover and attempted to read the faded writing. "Ana I. Cul . . . I've never heard of this author before. I wonder who it could be."

"Whoever it may be should be dead now. From what we heard, the Kingdom of Trinity existed way before Fiore," commented Gajeel.

"Yeah, you're right. Well, we have the book. Let's see what we can find before catching up with the others." She said as she put on her magic reading glasses and started flipping through the book.

~One Hour Later~

Because the writing was difficult to understand, it took longer for Levy to get through the book, even with the magic glasses. It was when she got to the end of the book that she slammed it shut and set it aside, not bothering to take another glance at it.

"Levy?" murmured Pantherlily. Gajeel looked over to the silent girl and wondered what could be wrong.

"There was nothing there that was helpful."

"Are you sure?" asked Gajeel.

"Of course!" she snapped only for her to realize that she had snapped at him out of irritation. "Sorry."

"Well, what did you find?" asked Pantherlily, trying not to irritate her more.

"Just everything we already know, except for . . ."

"For what?" asked Gajeel.

"Well, it went more into detail, as if this person witnessed everything. If only it had something about helping Lucy," she said, trying to keep her voice calm. Gajeel, feeling a slight bit sympathetic, stepped closer to her and placed his hand on her head. It was his own way of reassuring her that everything would turn out alright. Of course, he'd never say that with spoken words.

Levy clenched her teeth and rammed herself into Gajeel, wrapping her arms around him. This surprised him greatly. He stayed completely still, looking over to his cat friend for help. Shame for him, Pantherlily shrugged his shoulders and turned his attention elsewhere. Fully knowing that she wasn't intending of letting go anytime soon, he sighed and wrapped one arm around her while scratching the back of his head with the other.

"I feel so useless. Here I thought that I could find something in books to help Lucy, but now I think that our best bet would be in a fairy tale." She mumbled into his chest. He closed his eyes and thought carefully about what he could say.

"Don't worry, we'll find something," was all he could think of saying.

~Lucy's POV~

The rest of the day went by uneventful . . . except that I kept getting really bad migraines. At some point, I'm not sure when, Natsu made me go to bed, saying I needed rest. Erza and Gray had left just before that to go get something to eat. I offered to cook for them, but they refused . . . which they never do. All I can really think at this point was that they were hiding something from me. Whenever I tried asking Natsu, he'd get this pained expression in his eyes and turn away, saying it's nothing. That he's just worried. Now, I can't help but worry that there is something that they are deliberately keeping from me.

I laid there in bed with the covers pulled just below my shoulders. Happy was snoring away right next to me while Natsu sat at the edge of the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"Natsu?" I mumbled without really meaning to. He looked over his shoulder with a questioning glance.

"Hmm?"

"You sure everything is alright?" I asked, probably for the thousandth time today.

"Yeah, of course." He answered, just a bit too quickly. I rolled my eyes and sighed, knowing full well that he wasn't going to tell me anything. I closed my eyes and attempted to get some sleep when I felt something patting my leg. I opened my eyes and saw Natsu patting my leg with his hand.

"Natsu, what are you doing?" I asked.

"Uh, well Igneel used to do this for me whenever I had trouble sleeping." He said with a faint smile on his face. I blushed and looked away. "Uh, if it bothers you then, I'll stop," he stuttered, sounding embarrassed. I then smiled and shook my head.

"No, it's okay."

Minutes passed and for some reason, I felt uneasy. I was fading in and out of my little dream world and it was then that I started hearing one of the voices again. I wasn't sure what it was saying at first but it sounded sincere. _"Don't forget . . . don't forget who you are . . . who you really are."_

What it said startled me wide awake. Why would I forget? I can't forget, right? I snuck a glance at Natsu and saw him still patting my leg.

"Natsu?" I mumbled. He looked over and smiled.

"What?"

"These memories from the past . . . you don't think that they'll make me forget, will they?" I asked. It was then that I felt Natsu's hand stop and he went completely still. For a moment, I thought that he was going to tell me 'yes' and I started feeling scared, but when he turned back to me with a smile, I felt some relief.

"No, no you won't forget," he said. I smiled in return and, for the first time in what felt like ages, I had a dreamless sleep.

**Crimzon: Although it's short, I like what I did with this chapter. So, I hope you all liked it and please tell me what you think . . . preferably in a review haha.**


	12. AUTHOR NOTE

**Hey everyone, Crimzon here. I know, you're probably thinking "what the hell? Where's the new chapter?" haha, I know. I hate Author Notes in place of chapters too but yeah. I'm sorry to say that my computer has finally crashed on me so I won't be able to update as often as I'd like. But don't worry, I will continue writing the chapters down on normal paper and then use my brother's computer to update. I am almost done with the update to this fanfic so I should be able to update tomorrow or Tuesday. Just be patient with me, I refuse to give up on these fanfics so yeah. **

** ~CresentCrimzonMoon**


	13. Mental Break Down

**Crimzon: Hey people, please enjoy this awesome chapter and please review and enjoy!**

~General POV~

Levy, Gajeel and Pantherlily were still at the library trying to find clues to help Lucy. It was early in the morning and Levy had pulled an all-nighter reading the leather bound book over and over. Gajeel and Pantherlily had passed out on the couch around midnight.

"This is so irritating," she mumbled to herself. It was then that the librarian walked by and heard the young mage. She noticed the dark circles under her eyes and then noticed her two sleeping friends.

"What is irritating you, Levy?" she asked her. Levy was always at that library reading the books and the librarian knew her very well.

"Oh, Lydia. Um, I was trying to read this book, but I can't seem to read the writing. It's so old and the words are either smudged or faded. Even my magic glasses don't help," she sighed in frustration. Lydia smiled at the young girl and looked over her shoulder to see the book more closely.

"Ah, this was recently sent here from a different library that had been closed down," she said. She then scratched at her chin and smiled. "I think I may have something that can help with this." Lydia then walked over to her desk and brought out a small locked box. "Your magic glasses help you read a book in mere minutes, but they're useless if there's an unrecognizable word." She unlocked the box using a key she had tied around her neck and brought out a set of old looking glasses. "Don't let their appearance fool you, they're magical as well. This are rare, so be very careful with them," she said as she handed them to Levy. She looked at them questioningly.

"What makes them so rare?" she asked.

"They help you read what can't be read." Was all she said before grabbing a stack of books and heading down an aisle to put them away.

Levy smiled at her friend and put them on. Not even a bit a hesitation, she opened the book and suddenly the words were as clear as day to her. She immediately skipped ahead to where the author talked about the Guardians.

"_The Guardians are known to us as the protectors of the sun and moon. They keep the balance. The sun is protected by the one closest to her which is fire and is defended by earth, iron, and wind. The moon is protected by the water and is defended by ice, darkness and lightning." _

Levy continued to read past that and realized that there were some parts were written as if it was a text book and other parts were written like a journal. As if the author wanted to comment in the writing. She continued reading.

"_My Guardians, such faithful companions. I have recently found myself another Guardian. She is strong and bold, but fears her own strength and dearly misses her younger sibling. I had told her it was alright to bring him, but she refused to bring him into this kind of life. I must agree it would be too difficult for a young boy. I respected her wishes and did my best to make her feel more at home." _

Levy was drawn into the book and refused to stop reading.

"_Though I may rule, I have no say in what goes. I am trapped within this castle, never allowed to step off the grounds. I guess that it another reason why we have Guardians—to keep us company. Though as the days pass, it seems to be more and more difficult. My very good friend had recently discovered her brother had become a Dragon Slayer like herself. Although she is of the Earth, little Eli is of Fire. Such a young boy, I refused to put him through such dangerous training, but I have no choice. I try to protect him in every way I can—for his own and Nora's sake." _

Levy's eyes widened as she noticed the name. All of this had taken place years and years ago and yet, how is Nora's name mentioned here?

She thought about it carefully and noticed that not only do they have the same name; they're both Earth Dragon Slayers. She continued reading, skipping ahead a few more entries until something caught her eye.

"_In order to become a fully-fledged Dragon Slayer, you must slay the one who trained you. Slay the one who did not train you will lead to insanity and certain death." _

"_A horrible day today. I was unable to protect the boy from fate. He was to fight his dragon in order to awaken his abilities as Dragon Slayer, but I could not put him through something so traumatizing, so I ordered Nora to set the Dragon free and take him somewhere as far away as possible. I hoped that if his Dragon was gone, then they would let him be a normal Dragon Slayer. Malum did not agree. Without my permission or my knowing, he trapped the boy within the training hall with a different Dragon . . . the Dragon of Darkness. I had sent the remaining Guardians to go and rescue little Eli, but Malum had sent his own to intervene. I tried to go myself, but Malum had trapped me within my own room with a sealing spell. It was only moments after did I learn what had happened. Nora had arrived and released the spell set on me and we arrived at the training hall. The sight of it all was gruesome. I shed a tear at the mere memory of it." _

It was at this point that Levy was tearing up, but could not stop reading.

"_Should a Dragon Slayer lose control, they must be dealt with for they will cut down everything in their path until they are stopped."_

"_Today, I had to do the unthinkable. I don't think that Nora will never find it in her heart to forgive my actions. On a mission, Elliot lost control of his powers. Accompanied by all of the Guardians, both of the Sun and Moon, we were forced to deal with him. In circumstances such as these, the only way to dispose of Berserk Dragon Slayers, they must be turned to stone. They can never be turned back to normal for they will continue their ravenous rampage. Nora attempted to stop us, so I was forced to temporarily seal her powers away. After the deed was done, Nora did not say a word. All she could do was cry in pain and frustration. No matter what I could have said or done would have changed the past."_

Levy had tears streaming down her face as she read the last entry.

"The fall of trinity probably occurred after this," she mumbled to herself. She couldn't say anything more except let the tears fall. She couldn't understand why she was so upset.

"That book is surrounded by magic," said Lydia as she walked by the table once again.

"Huh?"

"The writer's emotions were literally put into the words. Whatever you're reading is what they were feeling as they wrote. Whoever the author was must have done it for a reason." Lydia smiled and carried on with putting away books. Levy looked back at the book and closed it, letting out an exhausted sigh.

"Levy?"

Levy looked up and noticed Gajeel was awake and looking at her with worry in his eyes. Though you really couldn't tell considering his eyes always showed the same expression.

"Oh, morning Gajeel, sorry. I'm ok."

"Did you find anything?" he asked. Gajeel wanted to ask what had her upset, but decided against it. Instead he changed the subject.

"Yeah actually, I have. I found something very interesting. Our friend Nora has a lot to explain to us," she said, letting a smile take over.

~Lucy's POV~

"Are you sure you're okay enough to go, Lucy?" asked Erza. I smiled at her concern and nodded. We were on a carriage ride to the small village outside the city.

"Yeah, of course. For once, I actually slept through the night and I'm feeling great!" I smiled. I didn't know what it was all of a sudden, but I felt like I did before all of this mess started. It felt as if none of it ever happened. All I want is for things to go back to the way they were before.

"Alright, if you say so, Lucy."

"Aye, now let's go and earn some money so you can pay your rent," cheered Happy. Natsu, who was partially passed out across Erza's lap, groaned in response and considering we were riding in a carriage to the next village, that was a lot. We laughed at his attempt to cheer and suddenly, I was looking at everyone as if they were slowly getting farther and farther away. And then I got this horrible feeling that this might be the last time I ever see everyone this happy again.

"_Nothing lasts forever Lucy. Enjoy what time you have left with them." _A voice, that same voice from my dreams, echoed in my mind. By some sort of miracle, I didn't react so the others didn't notice. They continued chatting away about our assignment. Instead I tuned out and looked out the window, repeating what the voice had said to me.

The trees passed by us slowly and I noticed from the corner of my eye that Erza was giving me a look of concern. Gray was arguing with Happy over something that had to do with Natsu and before Erza could say anything, I turned my attention back to them and smiled. Erza shrugged to herself, thinking that I didn't notice her silent stare and turned to watching Gray and Happy. _Momma, what should I do?_ _I'm scared._ I thought to myself.

"_Do not be frightened, Lucy. It'll all be over soon and then, you'll be able to rest peacefully." _What the voice said this time sent a chill down my spine as a knot formed in the pit of my stomach.

This is what the rest of the ride consisted of: me repeating the words the voice said.

~Nora's POV~

"They what?" I snapped. I had gone to the guild to meet up with Lucy, but Mira-jane told me that they had just left on an assignment.

"Well, Lucy said she was feeling better and Natsu suggested they go on an assignment so she could get her mind off all the recent occurrences," she said as she pulled out the paper with the request written on it. "I told Lucy that maybe she should wait here and rest for another day, but she assured me that she was fine." She added, handing me the paper. "She is okay, right?" she asked.

"Truthfully, I don't know. She might have another moment of memory loss, but I don't know. Going on an assignment right now of all times is the worst possible thing for her."

"Oh, well had I known, I would have tried harder to stop her," she sighed, feeling horrible for not stopping Lucy.

"That's alright; I'll go after them and bring her back. So this village, where is it?" I asked.

"It's actually just outside the city. If you go by foot, you might get there by sundown which is when they should be there too."

"Thanks Mira-san," I said as I walked away from the bar and started for the door only to be stopped.

"Nora-san, I think it's time you tell us _everything_ you know about Trinity," demanded Levy as she, Gajeel and Pantherlily stood at the doorway. Gajeel stood there with his arms crossed throwing me one hell of a glare and when I looked at Levy, I noticed a thick leather-bound book with the word Trinity on it. I felt every muscle in my body stiffen.

"Where did you get that?" I asked, trying with all my might to keep my voice still.

"I'm asking the questions here, Nora. How is it that we keep finding your name in this book that was written decades ago?"

~General POV~

"Master, she's on the move. Your orders?" Eliza and Griffin were on a nearby rooftop watching the group leaving the city in a small carriage.

"_Is Nora with them?"_ asked the voice echoing in their heads.

"No, she is not," Eliza sneered.

"_Good, good."_

"Don't mind me asking, but how is that good?" asked Griffin.

"_I grow impatient with all this waiting_," he replied. Eliza grinned as she caught on with what he was hinting.

"You want us to speed up the process?"

"_Precisely." _

With that last thing said, the voice of their master disappeared and so did they.

~Lucy's POV~

The sun was close to setting when we got to the village gates. The horse =, for some reason, stopped and refused to go any further.

"What's going on, Erza?" I asked as she tried making the horse continue towards the village.

"I'm not sure; she just refuses to continue forward. I guess we're going to have to walk from here," she said. I shared a look with Gray and Happy and we stepped out. Gray ended up having to pull Natsu by one of his legs in order to get him out of the carriage. Once he hit the ground, he came out of his daze and noticed that we were already outside the village.

"Woo! Let's go get this started!" he suddenly cheered as he got to his feet and raced passed the semi-closed gates. Sometimes I feel like I'll never understand him. I chuckled a bit and followed after him.

~General POV~

Natsu had charged ahead of the group to the inside of the village, but the site he found was not something he was expecting. The small huts were either on fire, destroyed or a pile of ashes. Bodies were covering the ground, lying in pools of blood. The smell of death hit him like a punch to the face as anger started to rush through him like adrenaline. It was only seconds after he walked in through the gates did the rest of the group and their reaction was no different from Natsu's.

"What the…" murmured Gray. Lucy wasn't able to stand any longer as her knees buckled and she fell.

"All these people . . . what happened?" she asked, not expecting an answer. Lucy then spotted a small child not far from them, lying face down and he was moving. Without any hesitation, Lucy got to her feet and rushed to him, hoping that he still had a chance.

"Lucy?" Natsu murmured when he saw her running to something. He then noticed what it was and ran after her. The others did the same.

Lucy made it to the young boy and carefully picked him up and cradled him on her lap.

"Don't worry, we're here to help," she said, keeping her voice steady. She looked down at the small boy and noticed the pained smile on his face. As if her were glad that help had come, but that it was too late for him. Lucy refused to even think of that. "Happy, look in my bag for the first aid kit!" she ordered the flying blue Exceed.

"Aye!"

"Can you tell us what happened here?" asked Erza to the injured boy. His eyes moved to look at her and smiled.

"Hooded people came . . . they attacked . . . killed everyone . . ." he said before coughing into Lucy's shirt. She looked down and saw blood.

"Don't push yourself now," Erza said sweetly, "We're here to help."

"They said to . . . blame . . . someone," he coughed again. "They said . . . to blame . . . Luciana." Everyone's eyes widened when they heard the name and they looked to Lucy. She herself couldn't believe what she heard and was in utter shock. "It's her . . . fault. Her fault . . . everyone's dead . . ." the boy continued.

Lucy felt something within her react to the boy's words. It kept her paralyzed.

"Lucy?" mumbled Natsu. Before anyone could say anything more, the entire area was engulfed in a strong magic like pressure. Natsu, Gray, and Erza looked up to one of the buildings that weren't destroyed and there were two hooded figures.

"My, my, Lucy. What are you going to do about this?" questioned playfully one, Eliza.

"Are you the people responsible for this?" questioned Natsu. He was already fuming in anger as fire started to surround him. He stepped forward, raring for a fight. Gray and Erza were trying to get Lucy and the boy to their feet and away from there, but neither budged an inch.

~Nora's POV~

"Explain yourself!" yelled Levy. I stood there, quiet. Not bothering to say a word. The rest of the guild had stopped what they were doing to take notice in the stare down I was having with Gajeel. Although Levy was the one talking, I was more concerned about the Iron Dragon Slayer taking a hit at me. "Answer!" she yelled again.

I can't waste my time here. I had a really bad feeling that something was happening and I needed to get Lucy back here.

"Look, I have to go, but I promise to answer whatever questions you have when I get back," I said as I tried to walk past Gajeel, but he put his arm up and in my way.

"No, you answer now," he said sternly. I sighed and thought up of something.

"How about this, you can come along and ask questions on the way?" Gajeel sent a questioning look to Levy and she nodded at my idea.

"Fine, but you must answer truthfully," she said, holding the book tighter in her grasp.

"Yeah, fine. Ask your first question now and get it off your system," I said as I started walking outside the guild.

"Fine, who is the author of this book? Do you know this person?"

"One question at a time, please. Look at the author name carefully and see what pops into the smart little mind of yours," I said sarcastically. She looked down at the inside cover and her eyes widened.

"Luciana?"

"Bingo."

"But why is it under a different name?" she asked.

"As you probably read, she wasn't allowed to do anything, especially do something she adored which was writing books so she had to publish that under a false name. She then gave it to someone she trusted and if something were to happen to her, then they had to publish it."

"How do you know all of this?" she asked again. This time, we were far from the guild and running down the streets of Magnolia.

"Just some basic learning material I was taught growing up."

~General POV~

It was an all-out battle between Natsu and Eliza. As he continued to throw his punches, she would merely dodge and kick him. Gray also had his hands full fighting Griffin. Erza wanted to help, but was unable to for she had to move Lucy and the boy to safety.

"Lucy? Lucy, we have to move!" she yelled at the celestial mage, but still, she would not move. Eliza noticed this and laughed. She kicked Natsu in the gut, sending him flying into a stone wall. She then lifted her arm up into the air and whispered.

"Wind Cutter!" blades of wind flew from her hand and directly at Lucy. Erza quickly summoned one of her swords and jumped in front of Lucy, attempting to block the blades. Only, she was knocked away from another blast of wind that came from a different direction.

"Lucy!" all three mages yelled. Once the blades of wind hit their target, Lucy was covered in blood. Their target was the dying boy in Lucy's arms. It was then that everything in Lucy's mind went dark.

**Crimzon: Hope you all liked this chapter. I did my best and will update as soon as I can, but like in the Author's Note before this, my computer crashed so yeah. Review please!**


	14. Overflowing Magic

**Crimzon: Hey everyone! I managed to get my hands on a computer so I could type this up. I must say, I like what I did with most of it and it's plenty long. Hope you all enjoy and please review! Also, I am coming up with a brand new Fairy Tail fanfic, but I won't start it 'till this one is done (and it's like halfway there). Once I have my thoughts together on it, I'll let you all know when the first chapter it up so yeah.**

**Happy: Aye!**

**Crimzon: … just do the disclaimer.**

**Happy: Aye! Crimzon-chan does NOT own Fairy Tail! Enjoy!**

~Nora's POV~

_~Flashback~_

"_It's all your fault! All your fault! If it weren't for you, Eli wouldn't be … wouldn't be …"_

_I couldn't talk. The tears were coming too quickly for me to even attempt to hold back. A tight knot formed in my chest as the overflowing anger pulsed in my muscles. I could hear her commanding voice telling the other Guardians to take me away from here, that I was too hysterical. She was probably right._

"_Elliot . . ." my strength failed me as I sank to my knees. I felt a pair of hands on each shoulder, trying to get me off the ground, but I didn't budge. I heard more voices, one I recognized to be Emrick. They were trying to get my attention, but I refused to respond._

_I continued to stare down at the ground, my silver hair covering my eyes, making everything look like it was covered in a mist. It was then that something caught my eye. There was something in the dirt in front of me and I reached for it, already sure of what it was. I held them in my hand—Elliot's dog tags—the very ones that identified him as a Guardian._

_More and more tears slipped passed and fell onto the tags as the strong arms attempted to take me away. Slowly, I began to feel the spell that was placed on me begin to wear off as my magic begin to return. Dragon Slayer magic began to seep throughout my body and soon, all of my sadness was replaced with anger._

_~End Flashback~_

Why am I remembering such an event _now_ of all times?

"Nora?" I had forgotten that Levy had been trying to get my attention for the past three minutes.

"Sorry, what?"

"The book mentions a boy named Elliot. Who was he?" she asked. I felt my muscles twitch as my mind ran through my thoughts for an answer to give.

"He . . . he was a Guardian."

~General POV~

The smell of fresh blood hung in the air. The boy's body hung limp in Lucy's arms. His eyes remained open, frozen with the expression of pain. Lucy couldn't move for she was hypnotized by the look of the dead boy's eyes. The three Fairy Tail mages continued to call out her name, trying to get her to respond.

"_Lucy . . ."_ the soothing voice from before spoke. It seemed as if time around her had stopped the very moment she came to her senses.

"Wh-what happened?" she questioned out loud. She then noticed the dead boy in her arms. It took all of her strength just to stop herself from screaming. She gently moved the body and stood up, backing away a couple of steps.

"_Lucy, it's time,"_ the voice said again. Lucy suddenly felt tired and wanted nothing more but to fall asleep, but before anything could happen, time around Lucy sped back up and Natsu's voice was the first to reach Lucy's ears.

"Lucy! Get out of the way!"

She looked over and noticed the pink haired mage running towards her and knocked her to the ground. They landed a few feet away from where Lucy had been standing, only now, that whole area was now a crater that Eliza created from her last attack.

"Luc, what the hell happened?" he practically snapped.

"I-I don't know . . ." she mumbled, looking at the crater. Natsu sighed in relief at the realization that Lucy was still Lucy. He stood up and held out his hand for Lucy. Lucy took it and before she could get to her feet, Eliza spoke out in the silence.

"Aw, now isn't that the sweetest thing," she mocked.

~Lucy's POV~

"What the hell was the point to all of this?" snapped Gray. The fighting had stopped, but only for the moment. I was still on the ground, holding onto Natsu's hand. I couldn't find the strength in my legs to stand. It's as if something about this event, the look of everything, was keeping me paralyzed.

"The point?" answered Eliza. With a laugh, she added, "It was for fun!"

My heart started beating quicker at her response.

"The smell of freshly spilt blood, their screams of torment and the complete and utter chaos of it all! It's just so thrilling . . . so wonderful!" she continued in an ecstatic tone as she wrapped her arms around herself with a look of pure delight on her face.

My blood felt like it was burning in my veins in response to her words. I looked over to Gray and Erza and they had the look of anger and disgust on their faces. It's then I felt Natsu's hand tighten around mine and I looked up at him. He was way past anger, he was furious. He had his free hand clutched so tightly that I noticed some blood slip passed his fingers.

"You . . . you're not human," Natsu practically growled. He then let go of my hand and stepped forward.

"Hmm, you're probably right, Salamander. I don't think I should even be considered human now," she responded in a joking manner.

~General POV~

It was quiet for a few moments. Fed up with it, Natsu charged first and flames engulfed his fists.

"Iron fist—"

"Too slow!" Eliza shouted, stopping Natsu's attack. Eliza brought up her hand and pointed at the Dragon Slayer, causing a gust of wind to surround him. He attempted a Dragon Roar, but suddenly felt weird and it all came out as a puff of smoke.

"What the?" he gasped. He then remembered Nora's Nullifying Roots, but this felt completely different. He was having trouble breathing.

"You're probably wondering what's happening, aye Salamander?" chuckled Eliza. Natsu then fell to his knees, confused.

"Natsu!" yelled Erza as she equipped one of her swords and was about to charge at Eliza when Griffin got in the way.

"I don't think so," he sneered as he spread his arms, causing two gray magic circles to appear around each hand. He then flung one arm forward, pointing at Erza and iron cuffs flew from the magic circles, attaching themselves to Erza's wrists and flinging her back into a concrete wall. She was pinned.

"Why you! Ice Make: Lance!" yelled Gray as he put his hands together then hitting the ground, causing a blast of ice to shoot up and charge at Griffin . Griffin merely smiled and jumped up into the air, away from the range of the ice. He then pointed his other arm at Gray and did the same to him as Erza. Gray was slammed into the concrete wall right next to her.

"I can't allow you two to intervene," he mumbled.

~With Lucy~

"Natsu!" she yelled as she managed to get to her feet. She could see him through the vortex wind. He was still on his knees with one hand grasping his neck. He couldn't breath.

"Aw, what's the matter, Lucy? Powerless to save your precious nakama?" Teased Eliza.

That's when something seemed to snap within Lucy.

"I'll show you powerless," she sneered as she reached for her keys. "Gate of the Lion, I op—"

Eliza interrupted her before she could summon Loki.

"I don't think so, I wouldn't if I were you," she warned. Lucy looked back at Natsu and saw him on his side, hardly moving. "Take a closer look, Lucy."

"Natsu . . ." mumbled Lucy with worry in her tone.

"If you think that this is anything like Nora's Nullifying Roots, then you are greatly mistaking," added Eliza. Lucy gave Eliza a look of confusion and all she could think was, how do they know Nora?

"She created a vortex that's sucking out all of the oxygen. No oxygen, no flame … no breathing either," explained Griffin as he appeared next to Lucy. That's when she realized how powerless she felt.

She knew that if she tried to summon any of her spirits, Eliza would kill Natsu, but is she didn't do anything soon then he'd still die.

"_It's time I take over, Lucy."_

A voice called out to her and like before, she couldn't move. She dropped her keys and stood there with an empty look in her eyes.

"Lucy?" mumbled Happy. Eliza and Griffin took notice to Lucy's sudden change in demeanor and they knew that it was time to make their move. Eliza nodded towards Griffin, not once letting her vortex cease. Griffin nodded in return and rolled up his sleeves, revealing three metal rings on each arm. He clapped his hands together, causing a gray magic circle to form on the floor. The metal rings began to melt away and droop into the circle, forming a puddle on the ground. The circle began to glow brighter as the puddle began to rise, forming a long rod and then continued to mold itself until finally, it was a scythe.

Scythe in hand, he started walking towards Lucy.

"Lucy!" both Erza and Gray yelled.

Happy realized that Lucy wasn't herself so he tried to push against one of her legs, but she wouldn't budge. He then flew up and grabbed onto her arm and pulled, but she still wouldn't move.

"Out of the way, cat."

Happy turned around and noticed Griffin standing behind him. Before he had a chance to say or do anything, Griffin grabbed one of Happy's wings and threw him aside.

"Happy!" Gray and Erza yelled again. Seeing their nakama get hurt like this hurt them more than any mere flesh wound.

Griffin stood next to Lucy with the blade of the scythe held up against her neck.

Natsu looked up at the scene before him, gasping for breath.

"Lu-cy…" was all he was able to mutter. He's never felt so helpless. He then saw Griffin pulling back the blade of the scythe.

"Lucy!"

"Lucy!"

Gray and Erza continued to yell one after the other. Happy looked up from the ground, tears forming in his eyes. Natsu reached out from the ground, trying to get to Lucy, but he couldn't get closer.

Griffin, closing his eyes, started swinging his scythe forward, all the while; he could hear the cries of Lucy's fallen comrades. Everything seemed to go in slow motion.

There was a sound of clashing metal and gasps all around. Griffin opened his eyes and saw Lucy. A gold outline was surrounding her. She had her hand up which is what the blade collided with.

"Truly, it's a sad day when your own Guardians turn against you," she mumbled. Lucy looked back over her shoulder at Griffin. Her eyes no longer brown, but a bright blue.

"Luciana-sama?" gasped Griffin as he dropped his scythe then dropped down to one knee with his hand over his chest.

"Griffin, what the hell are you doing?" snapped Eliza. Her shock broke her concentration on the vortex and it started to weaken. Luciana narrowed her eyes.

"I never understood why you were chosen by wind when you show the temper of fire, Eliza," she sighed.

"What?" sneered Eliza.

"Release the boy, Eliza. I don't wish to have to fight you," she warned.

"My allegiance no longer lies with you!"

"So be it," she mumbled solemnly as she raised her fist, pointing at Eliza as a gold aura started forming a sphere around her fist.

In only seconds, a beam of light shot out from Luciana's fist. Eliza had no chance to dodge. The beam of energy shot her in the gut, causing her to fly back and collide into a burning hut.

"Eliza!" yelled Griffin as he rushed to her aid. The vortex of wind surrounding Natsu dissipated. Natsu sucked in a breath of fresh air.

"Are you alright, Natsu?"

He looked up to see Lucy kneeling next to him.

"Lucy?"

"I'm sorry, Natsu. Lucy's not here," she replied in a solemn tone. His eyes widened as fear started to form in his thoughts. He didn't say anything, instead, he stayed on the ground in shock. Luciana sighed, "I'll go help your friends."

She turned to the pinned mages and with a swift movement with her hands, the iron cuffs melted away and Gray and Erza dropped to the ground.

"_My_ friends?" mumbled Natsu. Luciana turned to the Dragon Slayer with a questioning look. "_My_ friends?" he repeated. "You mean _our _friends! They're your friends too, Lucy!" he snapped.

"Listen Natsu, Lucy is…" she was cut off as something seemed to snap.

"_They're my friends, my nakama!"_ Lucy's thoughts echoed.

"She's trying to gain back control," muttered Luciana. Magic started to overflow and surround her with a golden sheen.

"_Give me back my body, Luciana!" _

With another surge of magical energy, a bright light surrounded her completely and it created a beam that shot up into the sky. Luciana looked up, no expression on her face, but then a smile formed. _Injured from battle and worried for their friend. They are true nakama._

"As you wish, Lucy. If you can gain back control then fine, but this will only be temporary," said Luciana, but her voice wasn't heard by the others. Moments before she blacked out, she noticed a few figures running from the entrance of the village. "Nora?"

~Nora's POV~

We were nearing the village and I continued to answer questions. This time, I got a question from Gajeel.

"Why do you smell like death?"

"Well, it could be one of three things," I stated. "It could be the fact that I've taken plenty of lives or it could be because of my element."

"What does your element have to do with it?" asked Levy.

"When Trinity was still around and Dragon Slayers were common, depending on the element their magic revolved around, they were given a certain duty."

"What do you mean?"

"Fire and Lightning: Guards. Iron: Smiths. Wind: healers. Water: Defense. Ice: Sealing. Darkness: Undertakers. As for Earth, we're Gravediggers. The earth was the final resting place for the dead."

"That doesn't explain your scent," said Gajeel.

"The fact that I would have been considered a Gravedigger doesn't explain it?"

"No, it doesn't. Although there is not a doubt in my mind that you have taken lives, your scent is of something slightly different than that," he said. It shocked me that that statement was so well spoken; I had forgotten to think up a quick answer.

"Wait, you only mentioned two things," stated Pantherlily.

"Huh?"

"You said, 'one of three things,' but you only mentioned two. What's the third?" he asked.

"Sorry, I meant two."

"Now, you're lying," she said, sounding annoyed.

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to explain this," I sighed. "In Trinity—"

"Hold on," interrupted Gajeel. The four of us stopped running and took notice to a beam of light coming from the village. Oh no, I recognized this light.

"Lucy…" I muttered before bolting in the direction of the light.

~General POV~

The Fairy Tail mages ran through the gates and stood next to Gray and Erza.

"What happened?" asked Levy.

"Luciana took over Lucy and now she's fighting to gain back control," answered Nora.

"How did you know?" asked Gray.

"It's kind of obvious," she stated, looking around for something. "Where are her keys?" she asked.

"What?"

"Her Celestial keys!"

"She dropped them when Luciana took over," Happy flew over and landed on Nora's shoulder.

"Happy, hurry and find her keys!" I ordered.

"Aye!"

"What can we do to help?" asked Erza.

"I suggest stay put and pray this works. That surge of energy will tear us to bits. The only person that can really get lose to her is… Natsu!" Nora saw Natsu walking towards Lucy, passing by the magic energy like nothing. She then looked back and saw Happy pull Lucy's keys from a pile of rubble.

"Happy, toss the keys to Natsu!"

"Aye!"

"Natsu, give the keys to Lucy!"

Natsu didn't answer; instead he broke through the energy until he was inches away from Lucy. He put his hands on her shoulders and started yelling.

"Don't let this control you, Lucy! This is your body, your mind, don't let Luciana take over!"

"Natsu!" Happy shouted as he threw Lucy's keys over to Natsu. He caught them without a problem. He brought up Lucy's hand and placed her keys in her palm. He then placed both his hands around hers.

"Please come back, Lucy! I know you can beat this! I know this because we're nakama, right?"

Natsu kept a firm grip on her hand, eyes shut as he silently prayed. The surge of energy started to weaken until it had finally vanished. Lucy suddenly felt like she had control again. Her eyes reverted back to brow as she opened them to find Natsu standing before her.

"Of course, Natsu. We're nakama," she answered in a soft voice.

Natsu opened his eyes at the sound of her voice and saw her smiling. Without any hesitation, he pulled her into his arms.

"Lucy…" was all he managed to say. It was then that another pair of arms enveloped the two. Erza and Gray. Then Levy and Happy soon joined them.

"You're not going to join the group hug, Gajeel?" asked Pantherlily.

"Not my style," he said with a sly smile.

"Then what was that in the library?" teased the Exceed. This brought out an embarrassed expression on Gajeel, but quickly faded when he noticed Nora's quiet expression.

"What is it?" he asked.

"_They_ were here," she stated, narrowing her eyes. It was then that the group hug dispersed and Erza, Gray, and Natsu started scanning the area.

"Where the hell did they go?" snapped Natsu.

"They must have gotten away during all the confusion."

While the others searched the area, Lucy started feeling fatigued as she fell over, unconscious.

"Lucy!" Nastu gasped as he caught her before she hit the ground.

"Calm down, Natsu. I can't blame her for being tired. She exhausted most of her Celestial magic trying to gain back control. Let her rest for now," explained Nora.

~Back at the Guild~

~Nora's POV~

Once we got back to the guild, Natsu took Lucy to the back so Wendy could heal her wounds. I was standing at the entrance to the guild, looking up at the star filled sky.

In reality, I'm shocked Lucy managed to gain back control. Luciana's Dragon Slayer magic should have kept her in control, but…

"Nora?" Erza, Gray, Pantherlily, and Gajeel walked up from behind me.

"What?"

"How did you know Lucy's keys would help?" asked Erza. I looked back up to the sky and answered.

"Celestial Magic, although much weaker, always rivaled Dragon Slayer Magic. When Lucy dropped her keys, that gave Luciana the chance to take full control. When something caused Lucy's subconscious to awaken and fight to regain control, Luciana's Dragon Slayer Magic fought back which is what caused the surge of energy."

"And when she got back her keys, her Celestial Magic stopped the surge of power," finished Pantherlily.

"Correct."

"Then why was Natsu able to get so close to Lucy?" asked Gray. I crossed my arms and smiled.

"The closest element to Luciana was always Fire so it makes sense that Natsu was able to get close." I sighed and with a smile, I added, "Go be by her side. I'm sure she needs the rest of her nakama there." With that alst thing said, I started walking away from the guild.

"Where are you going?" asked Erza. I turned and raised an eyebrow.

"You're one us now, meaning you're also one of our nakama. Lucy needs you here too," added Gray. "You did everything you could to help Lucy and we're grateful for that."

I felt my eyes widen in sudden surprise. I looked at each and every one of their smiling faces and then I saw Natsu standing further behind them, nodding in agreement. I smiled and nodded in return.

"Don't worry then, I'll be back soon then."

I turned away from the guild and started walking down the cobblestone path. For the first time in what felt like forever, I felt like I belonged, that I was no longer alone. Out of reflex, I reached up to the tags dangling around my neck.

_Elliot…_

I continued to walk down the poorly lit streets.

_I've gotten too close._

As I walked down an alleyway, I realized I was no longer alone.

"What the hell was up with that stunt today?" I said, not bothering to look who was standing behind me. I already knew who they were.

"Master's orders," stated Griffin. I turned to face the two as the emerged from the shadows.

"Master huh? It hasn't even been seven days yet."

"Master was getting impatient," commented Griffin.

"Yeah and besides, why do you care?" stated Eliza. "Your mission was to protect the girl from Emrick and the others, that's all."

"Well duh, but speeding up the process isn't fair to Lucy. She was given a week so she could send her last moment with her friends."

"Yeah well, we don't care and you shouldn't either… unless you do care?" stated Eliza.

"No, you're a fool to think that I would care about…" Eliza cut me off.

"No Nora, you're the fool. You actually let them get close! What did you expect to do once the seven days were up?"

I was taken aback by her words. She was right, I let them get too close and now…I couldn't even make up an excuse.

"I—I …"

"Face it, Nora, you've gone soft. Now, answer me this, what would you have done when the time came to sacrifice Lucy to Master? The only reason you're doing this is to save your kid brother so really, who would you chose: the living or the dead?"

"He isn't dead!" I snapped.

"So, you chose your brother?" she asked, a sly smile on her face.

"Y—Yes…" I answered, actually feeling ashamed.

"Good, then prove it, prove how important he is to you. Go capture the nosy little Fairy hiding behind those crates," ordered Eliza as she pointed to the crates behind me. I turned around and heard a slight gasp.

"Show yourself!" snapped Eliza. That's when I heard someone suck in a breath and the walk out from behind the crates.

"Levy?" I mumbled. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"There was something about you that never made sense to me, so I followed you. After listening to your conversation, my assumption was correct."

"Really? And what assumption was that?" Eliza said in a snide tone.

"That the three of you were the Guardians of Trinity. What you said about them being your ancestors was a lie, wasn't it?"

"You're pretty smart, girlie," chuckled Eliza.

"The three of you were Luciana's Guardians and your master … he's Malum Locke, the former kind of Trinity, right?" it was when she said that that I realized she needed to get the hell out of here.

"Well, well, well, looks like our cover's been blown," Eliza said with a sadistic look on her face. She then nodded over to Griffin and before I could say or do anything, he vanished and appeared behind Levy. He grabbed onto both her arms and lifted her from the ground. She was unable to mutter a spell for Griffin had his other hand over her mouth.

"Well, Nora? I believe it's your turn," stated Eliza. I looked back to Levy, her eyes pleading.

"She isn't a threat, put her down," I ordered, but Griffin ignored it.

"Sorry Nora, but we don't answer to you, so go and use you Nullifying Roots to put the nosy Fairy to sleep," Eliza ordered. I looked back at Levy and I sighed. I have no other choice. I walked up to the struggling girl as I lifted my arm and pointed at her, a green circle forming right from under her. This time, her eyes showed betrayal.

"The earth is my domain: Nullifying Roots." I muttered the spell as roots slowly came up from the ground and wrapped around Levy. The effects took only seconds as Levy's eyes drooped and fell into a deep sleep.

"I'm sorry, Levy."

**Crimzon: Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. You know the drill, review please and I'll try to update sooner (especially since the next chapter is already half done ha-ha).**


	15. True Feelings

**Crimzon: Im soooooooo sorry for such a delay in updating. I just graduated from high school, I've been dealing with a lot of stress and I guess that's been blocking the creative juices. No joke, I'm totally forcing myself right now to write this. Hopefully this chapter wont suck but I hope you all enjoy it. If you want me to upload quicker then please please please review! Your reviews are what give me the inspiration to write! Also, I DON'T OWN FAIRY TAIL, ONLY PLOT AND OCS!**

_**~General POV~**_

_~Back at the Guild~_

Gajeel felt himself twitch as a sudden shiver flew down his spine. On instinct, he looked out a nearby window. His sharp eyes scanned the area, but found nothing. He suddenly felt really uneasy.  
>"What is it, Gajeel?" asked Pantherlily. Gajeel let out a low grunt and leaned up against the wall, arms crossed as he thought about what had him worried all of a sudden.<br>"Nothing, just a strange vibe," he answered.  
>"You and me both. I can't seem to shake the feeling that something is wrong," agreed Pantherlily.<br>Gajeel walked back to the front of the guild, looking out at the dark streets looking for anything that would seem off. It's when he looked back inside the guild that a familiar leather-bound book caught his eye.  
>"Hey, isn't that the book we found at the library?" asked the exceed.<br>"Yeah, which brings up the question, where's Levy?"  
>Gajeel flipped through the pages, hoping something would pop out at him, only for an envelope to fall out.<br>"What's that?" Lily asked as he floated down to pick it up.  
>"Beats me," answered Gajeel.<br>They opened the letter.

_** ~Lucy's POV~**_**  
><strong>  
>I was having that dream again, but it was different. This is where I'd hear the screaming, but nothing.<br>_ "Forgive me, Lucy." _Luciana's voice echoed in the darkness.  
>"Why should I?"<br>_ "You are right, I have no right to ask for forgiveness,"_ she said.

"Then what do you want?"  
><em> "What Eliza and Griffin did today was foolish. Had I not taken over, your friend would have surely died. But, because of my actions, my magic has become more difficult for me to hold back."<em>_  
><em> "I don't understand."  
><em> "You must leave the guild and go somewhere safe . . . somewhere secluded."<em>  
>"What? Why?" I questioned. I suddenly felt a sinking feeling. A feeling that made me fear what she would say next.<br>_ "Because you overexerted your celestial magic, it is taking you longer to recover it all."__  
><em> "I still don't understand! What does my magic have to do with all of this?" I yelled as the panic started to set in.  
>"<em>It was your celestial magic that held back my dragon slayer magic. I fear that in less than an hour, my magic will overflow and release itself like before.<em>"

I thought back to earlier today. The beam of magic that had escaped from my body. It was a surge of energy that seemed to have a mind of its own. And it was my own magic that stopped it. I couldn't respond to what she said. I understood now and even though I now realized what she was talking about, she continued.

"_The only difference about this time is that now, it'll unleash itself tenfold. It will destroy everything around you, including your guild and friends."_

As she said that, all the faces of the guild members flashed across my eyes until they finally stopped at my close guild mates. And then, Natsu. A tear escaped my eye as I realized the horrible realization that I could hurt them and not have the power to stop it.

I stood there, trying to keep myself calm as everything started fading. I must be waking up now.

It took me a while to realize where I was. I was back in the infirmary of the guild. The lights were on but were dimmed. I looked around and noticed Gray sprawled out on the cot next to mine. At first, I thought he was injured and was about to call out his name when I noticed Erza sitting at the foot of the bed. She had her arms crossed on the railing and her head resting on them and then I heard her soft snoring.

'_They're sleeping.'_

I then noticed Happy and Charla sleeping at the end of the cot I was in. I smiled at the two exceeds and looked to my right to find Wendy. She had her arms crossed at the edge of the bed and her head resting on her them. I smiled and pet her head gently.

I then turned to my left and found Natsu. He had fallen asleep in a chair with his arms crossed. His head was leaning off to one side as he slightly snored. He looked so innocent as he slept … and then he started snoring loudly and drool started escaping his mouth. Oh yeah, the cute factor is now completely gone.

I sat there, watching them sleep. They must have been so worried. Natsu, Gray, and Erza must have exhausted themselves and Wendy probably tired herself from healing them. I feel so horrible for being the reason that they are injured. Had I been stronger then maybe their worries would settle. They wouldn't have to fight for me or save me whenever I'm in danger or kidnapped.

'_Thank you, everyone,' _I thought to myself.

I sat there in the silence, listening to everyone sleeping. It was seconds after that my chest suddenly felt constricted.

"_Get away from the guild, Lucy." _Luciana's voice rang out in my mind, causing a headache to form. Then I remembered the dream and I sat there a moment, thinking, hoping that it was just that, a dream.

"_I'm afraid not, Lucy."_

I sat there for a few more moments, trying to keep myself from shaking. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to keep myself still, but it didn't help. Tears were threatening to escape as the fear of what would happen began to settle in the pit of my stomach.

"_You must hurry and leave, Lucy. You haven't much time."_

I looked up at the dim lights and noticed a few flashing a bit. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as I felt a familiar static in the air around me. Suddenly, I noticed a yellow streak of-what I think was magic-skip across my shoulder.

'_She's right, I need to leave.'_

Being careful not to wake the others, I got out from under the covers and stood there on the cold wood floor. I looked over to the night stand and grabbed the tiny holster that held my keys. Although they wouldn't be able to help with much, I still felt safer with them around.

"_Hurry, Lucy."_

Without another moments thought, I ran out of the room and rushed down the hall. Without even stopping to look at any of the guild members, I sped through the front of the guild. I managed to bump into Mira-Jane and she tried to stop me from leaving, but I ignored her and continued running.

'_I'm sorry, everyone.'_

It was only when I was out of view of the guild that I notice I was barefoot. The rough cobblestone path had cut up the soles of my feet, making it difficult for me to walk without having to wince in pain. I knew that at the pace I was going, I wouldn't make it to the outskirts of the city. I looked down at my celestial keys and reached for one.

"Gate of the Maiden, I Open Thee: Virgo!"

"Time for punishment, Hime?" she stated her usual line whenever I summoned her.

"No Virgo, I need you to take me as far away from the city as possible," I ordered. For some reason, it was getting harder for me to stand and my chest was still feeling constricted. Virgo gave me a concerned look.

"May I ask why, Hime?" she asked with the same stoic expression. I shook my head, unable to answer. My throat was feeling dry and my muscles were beginning to stiffen.

Without badgering about why I was asking her to take me away from the city, she nodded and without much warning, she picked me up and started running at top speed.

In mere moments, Virgo had stopped and set me down. I could feel nice and cool grass through my toes as I took notice of the new surroundings.

"Is this far away enough, Hime?" asked Virgo. We were in a grassy field up on a hill. Only a few feet from me was a lone oak tree. Just behind the tree was an open field with a forest of trees further ahead. With some effort, I managed to move my legs and I walked to the tree. I gingerly placed my hand on the bark and that's when I noticed the view. I stared down from where I stood and it was all of Magnolia. The entire town seemed so tiny from where I was. With some concentration, I could easily find my apartment. Then my eyes began roaming around on their own until they finally landed on their target: Fairy Tail.

"Hime?" Virgo's voice barely reached me at this point. It took me a while to notice that I was actually using the tree to support me. A sudden pang of loneliness began to surround my heart and it felt hard to breath. Tears began to fall down my cheek without me being able to stop them. All I could think about this moment was my guild mates, my nakama. I clenched my teeth in frustration.

"Everyone…"

"Hime?" Virgo called out again. This time, I turned to look at her and judging by her shocked expression, I must have looked horrible. "Hime, what's wrong?" she asked. I closed my eyes and turned away. I grabbed hold of her key and hiccupped as more tears slipped passed.

"I'm sorry, Virgo. Gate of the Maiden: Close."

Second before she disappeared, she had taken a step forward with her arm reaching out to me.

I sank down to my knees as my strength completely failed me. My hands gripped the grass as more tears poured down my face. I was at the point where I was biting my lip just to keep myself from screaming. I kept thinking about what Luciana said and I kept thinking about the outcome of this overflow of magic. Luciana said that it could destroy everything around me. What is it going to do to me? Will I be able to go back to my guild? To my friends?

"_To Natsu?"_

Luciana's voice startled me as my eyes snapped open.

"What are you saying?" I asked, suddenly feeling my pulse quicken as I thought about Natsu.

"_I'm no fool. I can tell you have feelings for the young Dragon Slayer,"_ she stated with sympathy in her tone.

"I-I . . . I don't know . . ." I found myself saying. I suddenly started thinking about all the times I've spent with him. Do I really have feelings for Natsu?

"_I've been in love before, so I understand how you must feel. You may not understand now, but your heart does."_

"My heart?"

"_Yes. Can't you feel it beat quicker when you think of him or when you're near him?"_

"I-I . . . I love him?" I questioned, mostly to myself. For some reason, it felt like my heart started hurting at the thought of never seeing him again. More and more tears started to escape me. Are these tears the proof of my feelings?

"_You love him . . ." _was the last thing she said as her voice began fading away. I raised one of my hands to cover my mouth as I came to the realization of my true feelings.

"I . . . I love him . . ." I clenched my eyes as I cried. Oh how I wanted to run back to the guild. Back to my nakama and back to . . . back to Natsu.

Suddenly, I felt everything pulse as a sudden gut wrenching pain hit me. I fell on my side and clenched the grass. It felt like I was being torn apart from the inside out. I noticed the same magic slip across my arm like before back at the guild. I felt all of my muscles aching as the magic began to overflow around me. I bit my lip until I started to taste blood and then . . . as quickly as it started, it stopped. I could actually breathe normally and all the pain I was feeling was gone. I sat up and looked around me. Everything was still intact. Maybe the pain I had just felt was merely a taste of what was to come. I let out a frustrated sigh and got comfortable as I sat down, staring at the city. The occasional tear would slip down my cheek as I began imagining the others waking up to find me gone. I'd be making the worry again.

Suddenly, I felt a static in the air . . . almost like pressure. At first, I thought it was coming from me and I braced myself for the oncoming pain . . . but it never came. I sat there, waiting for the uncontrollable energy in the silence when I realized that this pressure wasn't coming from me. There was someone else here.

"Lucy Heartfillia," a voice called out. I turned to look over my shoulder and I found two figures standing no more than ten feet away from me. One of them had slightly tan skin and silver hair. The second was much taller and more muscular with darker skin and a buzz cut. The bottom half of his face was covered with a mask which reminded me of a ninja. Dawned on him was a black coat that had the sleeves torn off, revealing his muscular arms covered in multiple scars. He also wore white slacks and black boots. There was also one scar on his face that resembled an X and it was on the side of his head where hair refused to grow.

"Emrick, you say this is the girl who harbors Luciana's soul?" he questioned the shorter figure.

The one named Emrick nodded solemnly and turned to start walking away, muttering one last thing before disappearing.

"You know what to do, Virgil."

Virgil took a step towards me which made me stand and take a step back.

"I don't know who you are or what you want, but you need to get away before I . . ." he interrupted me before I could finish.

"I know all about your 'condition,' Lucy. I'm here to help," he said in a sincere tone. I almost fell for it when I realized something.

"You . . . how do you know my name . . ." I was about to say more, but he cut me off by raising his hand. He lifted one finger and pointed it at me, causing a wave of electric magic to hit me. I've never felt such pain in my life. The pain now doesn't even compare to what I had felt only mere moments ago. I felt myself falling back, all of my muscles cramping at once, the gut wrenching pain was unbearable and my head felt like it was being crushed.

_**~General POV~**_

Virgil let his hand fall back to his side as he watched the fallen mage. He would notice her twitch from the surge of electricity he had shot her with.

"Forgive me. You were thrown into something without even asking to. Now because of Fate's design and the mistakes of the past, your life is cut short."

Virgil walked over to the Celestial Mage and knelt down beside her, placing his hand on her forehead.

"May you find peace in the next world," he mumbled as his hand started glowing, ready to unleash another attack that would finish her off. Seconds before he could deal the finishing blow, something grabbed hold of his hand.

"Now is that any way to treat a lady?"

Virgil looked over his shoulder to the one who had stopped him.

"Well, what do you know? If it isn't the king of celestial spirits: The Great Lion, Leo." In a flash, Virgil stood up and jumped back several feet. "A celestial spirit coming to the aide of its master, how touching," he mocked.

"She's not my master . . . she's my nakama," stated Loki. He then crouched down beside Lucy and carefully lifted her in his arms. Sorrow filled his eyes at seeing her in such a state. He gently laid her back down onto the grass and then shrugged off his blazer and draped it over her.

"In all my years, I've never seen a spirit care so much for their master. Tell me, how is it that you are here? I don't believe she summoned you," commented Virgil. Loki stood up, his hair covered his eyes as he clenched his hands into fists. He then looked up at Virgil from the corner of his eye and only one thing came to mind.

"I came here of my own power," he stated, each word dripping with malice in his tone. "And I told you, she isn't my master . . ."

Loki turned to face his opponent as magic covered his fists.

"She's my friend! My nakama!" the orange flames then took the form of a lion's head as his anger began to overflow.

"My, my, someone seems angry," taunted Virgil.

Loki didn't comment. Instead he dashed forward and threw a punch at Virgil, but he merely dodged. Loki threw another punch, but Virgil dodged again. He continued to throw punches, but he wasn't able to land a single hit.

Lucy started to regain consciousness and with bleary eyes, she looked up and noticed Loki fighting off her attacker.

"Lo-ki . . ." Lucy could hardly speak without feeling pain. The pain rattled throughout her body, making any sudden movement unbearable. The electricity that shot through her body never dissipated. It felt like it was running laps throughout her system. Her muscles pulsed, her bones ached and everything else felt like it was on fire. It felt like short electric shocks were ravaging her system, causing her to twitch every few seconds and along with each twitch, came more pain.

"Why did you attack Lucy?" questioned Loki. Virgil looked at him with no expression on his face. Almost as if he didn't understand the question.

"Why?" he seemed to go deep into thought as he tried to find the correct way to answer. He then chuckled slightly.

"What's so funny?"

"You're not even aware of what's happening to your own master . . . I mean, your friend," he stated, humoring the celestial spirit. He then looked at him, at his expression and that's when it hit him. He was well aware of what was happening to Lucy. "So, you do know what is happening?"

"About Luciana? Yeah, I know," he said in a solemn tone.

"Then why stand in my way? You know very well how dangerous Luciana's magic is." This time, Virgil was taken aback by Loki's sudden chuckle.

"Why? Because Lucy is my nakama and I promised her that I would always be there to protect her."

This time, Virgil didn't get the chance to dodge as Loki lunged forward with a roundhouse kick to his jaw. Virgil slid across the ground, but still managed to get back on his feet without a problem.

"Alright, I've had enough of this farce. Clearly you're not planning on backing down."

Virgil appeared in front of Loki in a flash, surprising him. Loki stumbled back as Virgil reached for him, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. Loki noticed electricity bounce off Virgil's shoulder and it was at that moment that Loki knew he had to get away. He tried to kick at Virgil, but he only tightened his grip. Virgil then narrowed his eyes at him and then electricity shot through his arm and into Loki, causing him to yell out in pain. Once Virgil felt Loki's body go limp, he released his grip on him and let him drop to the ground.

"And here I thought you'd be more of a challenge," Virgil stated coldly.

Lucy couldn't stand watching Loki get hurt like this. She tried calling out to him, but couldn't find her voice.

Virgil looked down at Loki with pity. He was merely trying to protect his master . . . his friend. It's a shame that his mission wasn't to take pity on his enemies.

He brought up his arm and pointed up at the sky. Dark clouds began to loom overhead as thunder began to boom. Random sparks of lightning would skip across the clouds, all converging in one spot. Electricity began to form in the palm of his hand until it surrounded his entire fist.

"Iron fist of the lightning dragon . . ." he mumbled as he brought his arm back and started to thrust it forward.

"Ice-make: Shield!"

Virgil sensed the attack and before he could unleash his final blow, he stopped and backed away a couple of feet. In the spot he was standing in only seconds ago now stood a wall of ice separating him and Loki.

Before he could look in the direction of the intruder, he sensed another attack and quickly jumped back again, this time he was further away. A woman with long red hair had jumped down from the sky and landed where he was just standing, creating a crater in the ground. Virgil recognized her in an instant. She wore a peculiar armor with a cheetah print and cat ears with swords in each hand.

"Titania, Erza Scarlet," he said calmly.

He then looked to the wall of ice and noticed another mage. "Gray Fullbuster." Then he turned and noticed a small girl standing near him. "A Dragon Slayer of Wind: Wendy Marvell."

He looked at the three with a sly smile, "Truly, it is an honor to meet the famous Fairy Tail mages.

_~With Lucy~_

Lucy felt everything start to go numb. She hated this, this feeling of weakness. The fact that she couldn't move and only watch Loki get hurt was more than she could bear.

Virgil was about to deal the finishing blow when she heard Gray's voice in the background. She couldn't decipher his words since everything was starting to sound fuzzy. Then she saw Erza Attack Virgil and Wendy cut off his route of escape.

"Natsu, I found Lucy!" Happy's voice sounded close and she could understand his words. That's when she felt a pair of strong, warm arms gently pick her up.

"Na-tsu . . ." she managed to say.

"Hey Luc, you alright?" he asked, trying to keep his voice steady. He could tell just by looking at her that she wasn't alright.

"H-Help Loki," she murmured.

"Don't worry, the others are with him," he assured her. Natsu looked up and noticed Gray help up Loki while Erza and Wendy kept their eyes on Virgil.

"Well Lucy, you have some loyal friends," stated Virgil.

No one said anything, instead they watched.

"They remind me of Luciana's Guardians." Virgil smiled and turned to face Lucy. Wendy and Erza tensed and got ready to attack.

"Who are you?" questioned Charla.

"Are you with Eliza and Griffin?" added Erza.

"Don't group me with those two traitors," he spat. He then narrowed his eyes and looked back at Lucy. "Speaking of which, it doesn't seem like Lucy is all too sure of what is happening to her."

Everyone's expression changed. Lucy then felt Natsu's grip on her tighten.

"What does he mean?" she managed to ask. Natsu looked down at her with sorrow in his eyes. He was about to say something when Virgil interrupted.

"It seems your precious nakama have been keeping something from you," Virgil sighed. "You are well aware of the presence inside you, correct?"

Lucy nodded.

"Poor child . . . in order for Luciana to reawaken, she needs an empty vessel, but for reasons unknown, she was reborn inside your very soul. Because of that, her vessel was automatically decided."

"I-I don't understand . . . what are you getting at?" she questioned, more force in her voice.

"You see, Lucy, there is a price . . . the price to remember is to forget. Luciana needs an _empty_ vessel. A vessel free of emotions, dreams, fears . . . and memories."

"Shut-up! Enough of this!" Natsu snapped.

"Stop . . ." Lucy mumbled as shadows covered the expression in her eyes.

"My memories . . . is that what explains all of what has been happening?"

"You're slowly forgetting who you are. Your past, family, hobbies, dreams, fears, friends . . . everything that makes you who you are is fading away. Soon, you'll be nothing more but an empty vessel for Luciana to take over." He stopped to take a deep breath and then sighed, "And it is my duty to make sure she doesn't come back. Luciana cannot be revived if her one and only vessel is dead."

That's when the talking stopped and Erza attacked first, thrusting her sword forward. Virgil anticipated her attack and sneered. He stepped to the side the last second and grabbed Erza's wrist, holding her hostage as he brought up his free hand to her neck as it glowed with electricity.

"Let her go!" demanded Gray.

"I wasn't finished," Virgil chuckled. "It's very rude to attack someone when they're talking." He stopped a moment and looked around to each mage. "I should warn you of one last thing . . . Nora . . . I suggest you group her along with the traitor for she is one herself." Before anyone could say anything, volts of lightning began to shoot down from the dark clouds at random. He then let go of Erza and pushed her aside as he jumped back, taking control of the lightning.

"I'm sorry, Lucy, but I cannot allow you to live." Virgil then redirected the lightning towards Natsu and Lucy. Natsu then picked her up and dodged, almost falling over when he landed.

"Natsu, take Lucy somewhere safe!" ordered Loki as he gained his balance when Gray let him go.

Natsu didn't hesitate as he ran down the hill at full speed, back into the city.

_~With Gajeel and Pantherlily~_

Gajeel rushed out of the guild once he left the note Levy had left behind.

"Damnit!" cursed Gajeel as Pantherlily tried to catch up to him.

"Don't worry, we'll find her," reassured Pantherlily.

"She shouldn't have gone off on her own, especially after knowing about this."

Pantherlily didn't respond after that. Gajeel was really worried for Levy and nothing he said now would calm the Dragon Slayer down.

They continued down the street as Gajeel tracked Levy's scent. In only a few short moments, Gajeel turned down an alley and that's where her scent ends.

"Looks like she's not here. Let's try looking somewhere else?" wondered Pantherlily.

"No, this is where her scent stops," Gajeel stated.

Pantherlily looked around the narrow alley when something behind some crates caught his eyes.

"Gajeel?"

"What is…" Gajeel stopped mid-sentence when he noticed the object Pantherlily was holding in his paws. It was Levy's hairband.

"I think we should head back and alert the others," suggested Pantherlily.

"Yeah," Gajeel trailed off as a few other scents hit him. When he recognized who they belonged to, his eyes narrowed as his hands became fists.

"What is it, Gajeel?" asked the Exceed.

"I knew it was a bad idea to trust her," he stated with a growl.

"Who?"

"Nora."

_~With Lucy~_

"Natsu?"

"Yeah, Lucy?"

They had arrived back at Lucy's apartment. Natsu had set Lucy down on the couch while he sat by the window, keeping a look out. Happy sat next to Lucy, watching her.

Lucy didn't look up at Natsu, instead she looked down at her lap.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked as she clenched her hands tighter. He didn't answer, he merely continued to look out the window. "Why didn't you tell me, Natsu?" she questioned again, this time her voice was harsher.

"I didn't want you to worry . . ." he mumbled as he looked down in shame.

"You lied to me, Natsu! I trusted you and you lied!"

"I thought that we could find a way to stop this before . . . before you . . ."

"Before I forget? Before I forget _everything?"_ her voice got louder as her temper rose.

"Lucy, listen…" I cut him off before he could continue.

"Enough!" I stood up, tears already streaming down my face. "I'm tired of this . . ."

"Lucy?"

"I'm tired of being weak . . . of always needing to be saved!" Lucy felt a familiar energy begin to surround her, but she was too upset right now to do anything about it. Natsu noticed too and was trying to calm her down.

"Lu…" Lucy cut him off again as the aura started to surround her in a golden sheen. As her anger grew, her control over Luciana's magic was becoming difficult.

"You could have told me . . . you could have told me, Natsu!"

"Lucy, calm down…"

"No! I hate this . . . I hate this!" she cried out as her hands clutched her head. Happy started backing away from Lucy, suddenly feeling fear from the energy around Lucy. The energy began to glow even brighter.

"I-I hate you, Natsu . . ."

Natsu stood still as he tried to comprehend what Lucy had just said. It was at that moment that time seemed to slow down as the energy Lucy had fought so hard to control slipped passed and was unleashed.

_~Nora's POV~_

"We trusted you, Nora," Levy spat. We were back at Master's castle. It was mostly in ruin now, so we hid in the underground chambers. Levy was left inside a cell in the dungeon. Griffin had a few chains cuffed on her arms and legs. Loose enough that she wasn't uncomfortable, but not enough that she could reach the bars of the cell. Using my Nullifying Roots, they were spread along the walls of the cell making any kind of escape impossible for Levy.

"I never asked for trust. That was all on you fools," I answered coldly.

"What would you expect? You came to us, claiming to be there to help Lucy!"

"Shut-up, my mission was to protect Lucy, nothing more."

"And what are you getting out of this?"

I looked at the small girl. Her face was badly bruised, one eye was swollen shut. When she woke up, Eliza decided to take it upon herself to relieve some of her frustration. Luckily, Griffin stopped her before she could take her 'fun' further.

"It's none of your business," I stated as I placed a small metal tray next to her containing some bread and a cup of water.

"Gee, thanks," she stated sarcastically.

"Oh shut it, Griffin could have bolted you to the wall, but he gave you nice long chains so you can eat your food."

"I'd rather starve . . ."

"So be it. Just remember, we could have killed you and yet, you're still alive."

"Then why didn't you?" she asked. I was already walking out of the cell when I turned to look over my shoulder.

"Because unlike Eliza, Griffin and I still have our humanity. We don't take lives needlessly."

**Crimzon: You guys better be freakin happy about this. This is over 5,000 words long and took me over 5 hours. I thought that since I haven't updated in such a long time, I figured I'd give you a nice long chapter . . . be grateful.**

**Happy: You seem cranky.**

**Crimzon: It's two in the morning, what do you expect?**

**Happy: For you to be more angry?**

**Crimzon: -glare- . . . just review people!**


	16. The Price Now Paid

**Crimzon: Woo, I am updating again! Haha, anywho, thanks goes to those who reviewed . . . unlike some who just read and then split T^T.  
><strong>

**Happy: Why are you crying?**

**Crimzon: I'm just a little -hickup- emotional.**

**Charla: You're weird.**

**Crimzon: YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT?!**

**Happy: So, you're crying cuz you're weird?**

**Crimzon: Shut-up Happy. Anyway, I'm kinda surprised that no one has mentioned or asked about how the Guardians managed to live for so long and not age haha. Anyways, that'll be explained . . . eventually. Not too sure if it's this chapter or next. I'm kind of writing this as I go along. Anywho, please read, review, and enjoy and I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL!**

**~Nora's POV~**

_~Flashback~_

_I stood by one of the palace glass stained windows, looking out at the training field. It was early morning, the sun had barely risen high enough to tower the pine and oak trees. I wasn't here to enjoy the scenery though. I was watching over someone . . . Elliot. _

_It's been a couple of days since he was forced to kill that Shadow Dragon. I was well aware that for those who kill the one who did not train them, they begin to lose all sanity and eventually lose all control. We refer to them as Berserkers. The only way to stop a Berserker is to turn them to stone and leave them as such for all eternity. I've seen it happen before. That is why it's so difficult to find Guardians. It's either they die while trying to kill their Dragon or they become Berserkers because they decide to kill a much weaker Dragon, thinking it would work just fine as a replacement._

_Luciana has already told me that I might need to face the fact that he might be like one of them. I refused to believe it. But as much as I deny it, I can't help but notice the sudden changes in him. His bright red hair that reminded me of flickering embers has become a darker shade. His eyes, that were as bright as the sun, have become dim. His pale skin seemed to darken . . . almost like ash. I noticed he hasn't been getting much sleep considering there were dark shadows under his eyes. I didn't want to think it . . . to think that he could become a Berserker.  
><em>

_"Ah, Nora-sama!" I looked over my shoulder and noticed a couple of palace guards standing behind me. The looks on their faces were normal, but I knew their real expressions. _

_"Morning, is something wrong?" I asked, trying to pretend I didn't notice the slight apprehension in them when they heard the tone in my voice. They exchanged a wary glance with each other and the other guard spoke.  
><em>

_"Well, Emrick has returned from his mission and has been running frantic trying to find you. He seemed worried."  
><em>

_"Alright, thank you for telling me."  
><em>

_The guards nodded and left. They know full well that I wasn't in the best of moods these days. Ever since the incident with Elliot, the palace guards and other Guardians seemed more careful around me. Like saying the slightest thing pertaining to Elliot could set me off. They were wrong. Yes, it would upset me, but I would understand. They only worry about what might happen with Elliot.  
><em>

_Luciana left me in charge of deciding Elliot's fate. In the end, I decided to wait and see if he may remain the same. Though there was some hesitation on her part, she had let me go on with my decision. No one was to interfere unless absolutely necessary. Of course, there has been talk around the palace about 'dealing with him.' I've made sure to make my authority in this situation known. Any talk of 'dealing with him' had immediately stopped. _

_"Nora!" I turned and noticed Emrick running toward me.  
><em>

_"Oh hey, I was about to go look for you. What's wrong-" he didn't let me finish. he wrapped his arms around me as he breathed a heavy sigh. "Emrick?"  
><em>

_"I heard what happened," he stated. "I'm so sorry. Fallon-sama had sent me on an urgent mission. I know you told me to keep an eye on Elliot, but I wasn't able to. Had I stayed, then Mallum wouldn't have gotten the chance to-"  
><em>

_"Stop apologizing, Emrick. I'm not angry with you," I interrupted him before he could continue. "Luciana-sama sent me to help Elliot's dragon escape from here. In doing that, we hoped that he wouldn't have to become monsters like us . . . we didn't think Mallum would stoop so low by pitting him against a different dragon." Emrick gently pushed me away with his hands still on my shoulders. The look in his eyes made my heart hurt. I smiled the pain away as I placed my hand on his cheek. "I don't blame you, so please don't give me that look." The look in his eyes never changed as one of his hands let go of my shoulder and placed it gently over my hand.  
><em>

_"Nora, I-"  
><em>

_"I knew Mallum was going to do something drastic, but I thought that was just me being paranoid . . . I should've known . . ." I felt tears slip down my face as my voice began to sound unsteady.  
><em>

_"Nora . . ."  
><em>

_I looked away and out the window to watch Elliot.  
><em>

_"It's already been three day and he's still himself. Maybe . . ."  
><em>

_"Nora," Emrick had called my name, but I ignored him.  
><em>

_"Maybe Elliot's different? Maybe he wont turn out like the others, right?" I sobbed as I turned to look back at him. His expression remained the same and he didn't say a word. He turned his head and let his hair cover his eyes in shadow.  
><em>

_"Right?" I asked again.  
><em>

_"Look." That one word managed to strike fear in me as I turned to follow his gaze. I felt my eyes widen as I let what I was witnessing sink in.  
><em>

_Elliot was pointing at one of the trees and suddenly, all of the leaves burst into flames, but that wasn't what scared me. The flames surrounding the tree were completely black. I didn't need to look back at Emrick to know his reaction. He was probably as wide-eyed as me.  
><em>

_I noticed some of the guards running towards the tree with buckets filled with water. It's then that Elliot turned and looked straight at us. He knew we had been watching. A wide grin spread across his face and it's then I felt true fear. I felt Emrick's arms envelop me once more and that's when I realized that Elliot wasn't looking at us. He was looking at me. Elliot burning that tree was a message . . . a message directed towards me.  
><em>

_"Nora?" I heard Emrick's voice, but it felt far away from me right now. I'm sure that if it weren't for him supporting me, I'd be on the ground. I realized something just now, something I hated to admit.  
><em>

_"I'm scared . . ." I murmured. Emrick didn't need to ask me what I was afraid of. It was obvious.  
><em>

_I was afraid of my own little brother.  
><em>

_~End Flashback~  
><em>

"Nora?"

Someone was calling my name, but I was too tired to respond.

"Oi, Nora?"

Whoever it was, he had his hand on my shoulder, trying to shake me awake. It's then that I bolted up from the spot where I had fallen asleep. It took me a while to realize where I was, but I remembered. After giving Levy her tray of food, I had started climbing up the stairs that lead to the surface when I suddenly felt tired and I had to sit down. Next thing I knew, I was out.  
>Sighing, I looked at the person who woke me.<p>

"Griffin?"

"You know you talk in your sleep?" he asked, making it seem more like a statement rather than a question. Instead of answering, I leaned forward with a hand to my head. It was pounding. I've been having too many flashbacks lately. "Was it about Elliot?" he asked. This time, I looked him in the eye and then looked away, letting my hair cover my true expression. With only some hesitation, I nodded and then stood up.

"Where you going?" he asked.

"I still have to look after Lucy," I stated as I made my way up the stairs and back to Magnolia. Lucy doesn't have much longer which means it wont be much longer. Just wait a little while Elliot, I'll bring definitely bring you back!

**~General POV~**

_~Back in Magnolia~_**  
><strong>

_**(A/N: I ABSOLUTELY SUCK AT FIGHT SCENES . . . I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH)**  
><em>

The fight between the Fairy Tail mages and the Lightning Dragon Slayer continued to drag on. Erza had switched to her Lightning Empress armor and was attempting to fend off Virgil while Wendy attempted to heal Loki's injuries.

"Why protect her? Can you not see the girl's a lost cause?" questioned Virgil as he dodged an attack from Erza's weapon and then jumped away from an attack from Gray.

"Why you ask? Because she is a precious friend!" stated Gray.

"That's right, she's a part of Fairy Tail . . . she's part of our family!" shouted Erza as she dashed forward with her spear. Virgil merely sighed and held up his hand. Before the spear could pierce his flesh, he grabbed it then swung it over his head, taking Erza with it. Erza had no choice but to let go of the spear as she jumped back to a safe distance. Virgil tossed the spear to the side and raised an arm in the air.

"Iron Fist-"

"Too slow!" interrupted Gray as he dashed forward with his attack. "Ice Make: Lance!" Gray extended his arms forward, creating long, curved ice lances directed towards Virgil. For a moment, Gray assumed he managed to make contact with his attack once the ice impacted, causing dirt to rise up and cover the area around Virgil. Gray was wrong. He sensed him too late as he looked over his shoulder and noticed Virgil standing only inches away from him.

"I'm sorry, but it is you who is slow," he stated calmly as he extended his arm forward, electricity bouncing around his arm and converging in one spot. "Iron Fist of the Lightning Dragon." Virgil then brought back his arm as it was now completely consumed in electricity and then shot it forward. This all happened in mere seconds, so Gray was unable to dodge. Just when he thinks he's a goner, Erza appeared before him with the spear held out in front of her. The magic was immediately absorbed by the spear. "That's some interesting armor you have there, Erza."

Erza didn't respond to his comment. Instead she adjusted her hold on her weapon and pointed it at Virgil.

"Lightning Beam!" she then thrust the spear forward as a blue beam was shot from the point of the spear and directly at Virgil. He only stood there and smirked.

"Honestly, who do you think I am?" he chuckled as he lifted his arm. The palm of his hand began to glow a bright yellow and the blue lightning was directed to the yellow glow and suddenly, it made a U-turn and was re-directed back at Erza. She didn't have a chance to get out of the way as the lightning struck her. She screamed out in pain as she levitated off the ground for a few seconds and then fell to her knees.

"Erza!" shouted Gray as he regained his balance.

"Foolish girl. Did you really think that you would have a chance against me? I've have more experience in battle than you," he stated as Erza squinted at the pain while Gray stood protectively beside her. "Not only are you foolish, but to use a lightning based attack? What else would you expect?"

"What now, Erza?" Gray questioned quietly. She seemed to think it over carefully. Erza scanned the area carefully and balanced out all the possibilities in her mind. She replayed the short battle in her mind and that's when she spotted it . . . this man's one weakness. It was small, but at some point during his attacks, he seems to have a slight opening. "Gray, I have a plan. Follow my lead," Erza ordered. Gray nodded in agreement. Virgil wasn't able to hear their silent conversation, but he could only assume that they were planning something. Probably to attack him at once? He didn't care. They were no match for him either way.

"What could you two be planning?" he questioned, but no one could answer. Right at that moment, a strong gust of wind came at Virgil without any warning. He was caught off guard and wasn't able to block, so he had no choice but to endure it. He brought up his arms to cover his face as the wind managed to cause him to slide across the ground. Once the wind subsided, he realized who the attack had come from. Virgil smirked and quickly sped over and stood behind the tiny Dragon Slayer. No one was able to see him move at such a speed.

"Wendy!" Shouted the other two mages. Virgil then took notice that Loki was gone. Must have returned to his world once he was healed.

"My, my, what a powerful dragon's roar for such a tiny thing," he taunted as he reached down and grabbed Wendy by her arm and lifted her up off the ground. "And yet, it's not strong enough," he stated in a cold tone. He tightened his grip on her arm as she winced at the pain. Erza was quick to react as she changed to her Flight Armor. Virgil was again, astonished upon the abilities of these mages. He didn't even see when exactly she managed to get near him and attack with one of her blades. This caused him to back away, dropping Wendy in the process. He continued to back away to a safe distance as he watched Erza and the young Dragon Slayer. He smiled at her protective nature towards her friends. That's when something caught his eye which caused him to glance over his shoulder. That's when he saw a dark blur and there appeared Gray.

"Ice-Make: Geyser!" Virgil noticed the ground under him glowing a pale blue and sensed the danger of this attack. He didn't have much time and quickly jumped up. Gray's attack managed to freeze the ground and then shoot up like a tower with spikes. Although it was minimal, some of the spikes managed to scratch Virgil's forearm. Virgil winced slightly and quickly retreated to a safer distance. Using his good arm, he punched the ground, causing sparks of electricity to shoot down from his arm and to the ground, causing waves of lightning to spread out in circles around Virgil and towards the mages. He thought that maybe this would give him a slight advantage until he noticed something was wrong. He noticed the two older mages standing there, unharmed.

"Wait, where is?" he looked up above him and saw Wendy. She was floating in the air and it took him seconds to figure out how. A tiny white cat with wings was holding her up.

"Sky Dragon's Roar!" A burst of a much stronger wind hit him. He was unable to escape, much less block this attack. _Why is this one so much stronger than the one from before?!_

As Wendy completed her attack, they all gathered and noticed Virgil on the ground; cuts and bruises covering his skin. Gray quickly put up a cage of ice to contain him in case he attempted to escape, though in his weakened state, it seemed unlikely.

"Would you answer some questions?" Erza asked in a stern tone. Virgil no longer saw a point in fighting it. These three mages managed to prove something to him. The strong bond that they have, especially in battle. He shouldn't have gone easy on them in the beginning, but there was no helping it. This wasn't their battle to begin with, but they still meddled. Their intentions interested him.

"Go on," he managed to say.

"What makes you different from Nora? Weren't you comrades?" she asked. Virgil crossed his legs in the cage of ice and made himself comfortable.

"It's a rather long story, but not enough time to tell it from the beginning," he sighed. "We were all fellow Guardians to Luciana and Malum," he started. "Nora was the Guardian of the Earth and so, protected Luciana while I protected Malum. There was also one other Guardian that wasn't of a normal element. He worked along side Fallon, the very first Dragon Slayer. I assume you already know of this?"

"Yes, Nora had told us about the story The Dragons of Trinity," commented Wendy.

"Right, well after the tragedy that befell Trinity, the bond among us Guardians fell apart. Some continued to be loyal to their rightful element. For example, the Guardians of water and ice never left Malum's side. I, along with the Guardian of darkness decided to leave and we joined Emrick. Luciana's Guardians, on the other hand, they fell apart completely. After what happened to Nora's younger brother, her trust in Luciana faltered and when it came time for her to make a decision upon where her loyalty should lie, she chose Malum."

"Why would she join him?" asked Gray.

"Because he promised her the return of her brother," Virgil explained. He took noticed to the wide-eyed expression upon the faces of the mages. "Her brother had failed to become a fully awakened Dragon Slayer which later led him to become, what we call, a Berserker. The only way to stop one is to turn them to stone and leave them as such for all eternity. Nora had tried to find ways to save him, but nothing helped." Virgil took a deep breath and then sighed. "When Malum promised her that he'd bring him back, her resolve was made clear and she betrayed us. Eliza and Griffin were a different story. Of course, they could have tried to chose a different path, but Griffin being the loyal friend that he is, did not want to leave Nora alone so he followed and joined Malum. Eliza is afraid of being alone and joined them as well."

"Is there a way that her brother can be saved?" asked Erza. Virgil gave her a solemn stare. He remembered that horrible day almost as if it happened just yesterday. The way that boy lost control of his magic and the painful screams that came from him remained raw in his memory. Virgil shook his head.

"Once you become a Berserker, it's either you're turned to stone or killed." Erza and Gray shared a glance and asked one other question.

"Who are Elizabeth and Theo? We encountered them when all of this began and Nora never really made it clear who they were."

"They're not Dragon Slayers, if that's what you're asking. They merely help Emrick with simple recon missions. They're strong mages."

"I have one question. I remember Gajeel mention is and I never had a chance to ask Nora," started Charla. "Your scent, it's different from normal Dragon Slayers. As Gajeel had put 'you smell like death,' what did he mean by that?" she questioned. Virgil gave them a guilty expression as he sighed and looked down at his feet.

"The reason behind that is . . ." Virgil wasn't able to answer for at that very moment, an explosion was heard from the city. The mages exchanged a quick look and they quickly dashed to the end of the hill where they can have a full look at the city.

"That explosion, it came from Lucy's apartment!" Gray said, worry in his tone.

"Looks like my mission has failed," murmured Virgil.

"What was that?" asked Erza.

"My mission was to dispose of the girl before Luciana can take over her body, but from the looks of it, it's too late." He looked up at the Fairy Tail mages with a serious look. "You can release me now, I am no longer a threat to your friend. Trying to kill her now would be pointless . . . it might kill me." Gray and Erza exchanged another look, wondering if he was really telling the truth.

"He isn't lying," confirmed Charla as she jumped down from Wendy's arms.

_~At Lucy's Apartment~_

__What was once Lucy's apartment was now a pile of rubble. Smoke from the explosion had consumed the area, but was now slowly vanishing, revealing Lucy who was standing at the center of it all. Her eyes were glazed over as she looked at the destruction around her. She wasn't sure of what had happened or where she was. She wasn't even sure of who she was.

She started walking towards the crumbling doorway, wanting nothing more but to leave the area. It's when something caught her eye that she stopped in her tracks. A young man with pink hair was unconscious under a pile of debree. Under one of his arms was a tiny blue cat. Dirt covered them, but it was the boy who seemed to be injured. From what Lucy could see in her daze, there were multiple cuts up and down his arm and face.

_'He was protecting that cat from getting injured by something,' _thought Lucy. That's when another thought hit her. _'Protect it from what?'_

"What happened here?" she asked aloud, her voice hoarse. It's at that moment that her head started hurting. She winced and placed a hand to her forehead. Lucy looked back down at the young man and noticed a small, red tattoo of something on his arm. It appeared to be some kind of wing? Or a heart? Maybe both? It didn't seem familiar to her, but at that moment, images started flashing in her mind. She saw herself walking into a building and then a girl with long white hair stamped something pink onto her hand. It was the same tattoo. The words Fairy tail suddenly crossed her mind as another headache started to form.

"Fairy Tail, what is that?" asked herself silently as she winced from the pain in her head. She looked back down at the boy and for some reason, her heart started to hurt, almost like it was breaking . . . or maybe it was already broken? Either way, she was sure of one thing. "I . . . I need . . . to get away," she muttered. Lucy then turned and walked through the crumbling doorway, leaving behind the boy and his cat. She walked into the unscathed hallway and for some reason, she couldn't get the image of that mark our of her mind. Little did she know that her own mark was slowly disappearing from her hand.

**Crimzon: Ok, I really tried! But please review and I'll get the next chapter up faster! I'm also working on a quick short story type thing for Fairy Tail (maybe four or five chapters long?) But anywho, I'll let you all know once I post it so look forward to that!**

**Happy: Is this going to be like something you _promise_ but end up not do it?**

**Crimz****on: Oh shut it, Happy! I really am writing it down as a little side project -pulls out notebook- see!**

**Happy: . . . I still don't believe it, aye!**

**Crimzon: -irritated- you're just asking for it, aren't ya? Well, all that aside, please please please please REVIEW!**** ITS TWO IN THE MORNING, I STAYED UP JUST TO POST THIS SO REVIEW!**

**Happy: attempting to guilt them doesnt seem like something you'd do . . . why dont you beg?**

**Crimzon: You really piss me off.**

**Happy: REVIEW, AYE!**


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